Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You let a friend stay at your apartment while you were away on a trip. When you returned home, you discovered that a valuable possession was broken.

Write a letter to your friend. In your letter
• describe the broken possession.
• explain why it is important to you.
• explain what you would like your friend to do.

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear _________,

Student answer (Band 6.0)

Dear Stephanie,

I hope you are doing well. I wanted to ask that upon your night stay last week did anything got broken?

I remember I was not home and you came for home stay because you had your exam center nearby. Unfortunately, on my arrival I noticed a big crack on my tv and I was wondering if it occured during your presence.

Additionally, this tv was special for our family because my parents gifted it to my elder sibling after her academic achievement. This tv carries a lot of memories as I used to watch cartoons shows after coming back from my school everyday and we also enjoyed playing play station.

It would be grateful if you can acknowledge the damage and apologise to my parents. This can help in clearing out the misunderstanding air between us. We are also planning to buy a new one you can join us and cherish the moment.

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Best wishes,

Nishant

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three points: you identify the cracked television, explain its family significance through the gift from your parents and shared memories, and ask Stephanie to acknowledge the damage and apologise. The personal details make the letter relevant and help establish a friendly tone. However, the request is not fully clear or practical: “acknowledge the damage” and apologise do not specify whether you expect your friend to pay for repairs or contribute to a replacement. The final invitation to buy a new television together also leaves the responsibility ambiguous. To strengthen the response, state directly what action you want and explain it briefly, while keeping the considerate tone.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter follows a sensible sequence: greeting and opening, the discovery of the damage, an explanation of the television’s importance, and a closing request. Paragraphing helps separate these stages, and phrases such as “Additionally” and “I look forward to hearing back from you” guide the reader. Some links are less effective or slightly mechanical. For example, “This can help in clearing out the misunderstanding air between us” does not clearly connect the apology to resolving the situation, and the shift from asking for an apology to inviting Stephanie to buy a television together is abrupt. Make the requested action and its purpose explicit, and use clearer transitions between the request and the proposed next step.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary to describe the situation and its emotional importance, including “big crack,” “special for our family,” and “carries a lot of memories.” These choices make the message understandable, and the family examples add a personal voice. Some expressions are imprecise or unnatural, however, such as “night stay,” “home stay,” “acknowledge the damage,” and “clearing out the misunderstanding air.” “Cartoons shows” and “play station” also show limited control of common word combinations and forms. Aim for more natural collocations and precise wording, especially when describing the damage and making your request. This would make the letter sound more fluent and appropriately informal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including the explanation beginning “because my parents gifted it” and the sentence describing your childhood memories. The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors are noticeable. In the opening question, “did anything got broken” should use the base verb after “did”; “on my arrival” is followed by an awkward tense construction in “I noticed … and I was wondering if it occured”; and “It would be grateful if you can” has an incorrect subject and conditional pattern. There are also issues with articles and plurals in “watch cartoons shows” and “after coming back from my school.” Review question formation, conditional requests, and agreement, while continuing to use varied sentence structures.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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