Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Dear Lauren,

I hope your are doing well. I am writing this letter to inform you that I am back from Malta trip on 3rd April and I hope you enjoyed your stay in this house. While I was cleaning the room I found out that the microwave was broken and not working completely.

At first I will love to mention that you take care of the apartment very well; however everything looked alright but broken microwave destroyed my whole mood. I boworowed this from landlord who is going to pick this item on upcoming Monday. This is only valuable item I asked you to keep properly because that doesn't belongs to me; unfortunately, the light is not working and it stop heating the food as well.

I wasn't expecting you to pay the amount for repair, but I would like you to help me in finding the repairing shops and join me to fix the microwave from the shop.

I will be waiting for your response soon.

Regards,

Manpreet

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task: describing the broken microwave, explaining its importance, and requesting your friend's assistance. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, and the purpose of the communication is clear. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For example, while you mention the microwave is valuable because it belongs to the landlord, you could have expanded slightly more on the inconvenience this causes you. Overall, the response covers all requirements well, though the explanation of the item's importance could be more detailed to fully satisfy the 'well-developed' criteria for higher bands.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the prompt. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'however' and 'at first', to link ideas. However, the transition between the first and second paragraph is slightly abrupt, and some cohesive devices feel a bit mechanical. The referencing is generally clear, though the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words to connect sentences more fluidly. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different points of the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, such as 'valuable possession', 'inform', and 'repairing shops'. There are some instances of awkward phrasing or minor errors, such as 'boworowed' (spelling), 'that doesn't belongs to me' (grammatical error in word form), and 'broken microwave destroyed my whole mood'. While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise word choice and better control over collocations. To reach a higher band, you should aim for more natural-sounding expressions and ensure consistent accuracy in word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'I wasn't expecting you to pay the amount for repair, but I would like you to help me...'. However, there are several grammatical errors throughout the text, including 'I hope your are doing well' (your/you are), 'back from Malta trip' (missing article), and 'it stop heating' (tense error). While these errors are noticeable, they rarely impede the reader's understanding of your message. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and consistent verb tense usage, as these are frequent areas where errors occur in your writing.

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

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