Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-07-29

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 7.5)

Dear Manu,

I hope you are doing well. I wanted to talk to you about something I discovered after return from my trip. While I appreciate your stay at my apartment and taking care of the place. I found that the Ceramic vase was broken.

This vase was a gift from my mother on my last birthday. It holds sentimental values to me. My mother colored on it with her love and care. So, this is very close to my heart and I always keep it at safe place to take care of damaging.

I understand accidents happen and I am not angry. However I would appreciate if you let me know what happened exactly. If possible, you can also pay the cost to replace or repair this vase.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. I hope we can resolve this matter smoothly. I will wait for your response.

Warm regards,

Amanpreet

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points: describing the broken vase, explaining its sentimental importance, and requesting a resolution. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, maintaining a balance between being firm about the damage and remaining polite. The ideas are clearly presented, and the purpose of the letter is immediately apparent. To reach a higher band, you could provide more specific detail about the vase's appearance or the circumstances of the damage to further develop the narrative, but the current response fully satisfies the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, with each focusing on a specific aspect of the prompt. The progression of ideas is smooth, moving from the initial discovery to the emotional significance, and finally to the proposed solution. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'However' and 'If possible' effectively. To improve, you could incorporate a wider variety of linking words and transition phrases to connect sentences more fluidly, as some transitions currently feel slightly mechanical. Overall, the structure is clear and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'sentimental values' and 'cooperation' are appropriate for the context. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'take care of damaging' (should be 'prevent damage') and 'colored on it' (which sounds unnatural). Expanding your vocabulary to include more precise descriptive adjectives and idiomatic expressions would enhance the quality of your writing. The current range is adequate for the task but lacks the sophistication required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical slips, such as 'after return from my trip' (should be 'after returning') and 'keep it at safe place' (missing an article: 'at a safe place'). Additionally, the sentence 'While I appreciate your stay at my apartment and taking care of the place' is a sentence fragment. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles will help improve your accuracy. Despite these errors, they do not impede communication.

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