Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-05

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 6.5)

Dear Pat,

How are you right now? I know we just met last week as you were staying at my place for two weeks. But today I'm writing you with a heavy heart that I'm extremely dissappointed with the state of my house at this moment.

For first few days, I did not notice anything as I was heavily tired from my work trip and needed some time to unwind the fatigue. However, when I went to the kicthen I saw most of my expensive kitchen appliances have been broken. Also, one of my most precious gold necklace, which was a gift from my late grandma, is missing its pendant.

I was extremely surprised and livid by your actions. All of the things that you broke come with a very high price tags. I spent significant amount of money to buy all the collection of my kicthen aids. Moreover, what you did with my grandma's gift is utterly unacceptable.

Anyway, now I want you to take some accountability by contributing a fair share of money to recover my losses. Regarding my necklace, I want you to either return the pendant if you have or help me to look for it. I hope to hear from you soon.

Best regards,

Amy

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task: describing the broken item, explaining its importance, and stating what you want your friend to do. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, although it is quite confrontational. The ideas are clearly presented and the purpose of the letter is immediately obvious. To reach a higher band, you could provide more specific details about the 'kitchen appliances' to make the situation feel more authentic and better developed. Overall, the task is fully addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each serving a distinct purpose. You use some cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Moreover', and 'Anyway' to transition between ideas. While the flow is generally good, some transitions feel slightly abrupt. The use of referencing is clear, and the paragraphing is appropriate for a formal or semi-formal letter. To improve, ensure that the connection between the emotional impact of the situation and the requested action is more smoothly integrated.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly, such as 'unwind the fatigue', 'livid', and 'accountability'. However, there are some spelling errors ('kicthen', 'dissappointed') and minor collocation issues (e.g., 'collection of my kitchen aids' is slightly unnatural). While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the response from reaching a higher band. Focusing on accurate spelling and more natural collocations will help improve your score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'I'm writing you with a heavy heart that I'm extremely dissappointed' (should be 'to tell you that I am disappointed') and 'most of my expensive kitchen appliances have been broken' (should be 'were broken'). Additionally, 'For first few days' is missing an article. While these errors are noticeable, they do not prevent the reader from understanding your meaning. Increasing your control over verb tenses and article usage would significantly enhance your accuracy.

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

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