Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-06

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 Ram,

I hope you and your family is in good health. It's been a while we last spoke, so I thought I would write and asks what happened exactly when you stayed my apartment last month. I was away for business trip so couldn't see what damages happened to the properties.

I found that some of my indoor plants are missing and the ancient style clock on dinning hall was was broken and trash is all over the floor.

The clock plays significant role in my life because my grandmother gifted that to me and that is the one piece of item which I have in memory of her. It really devasted me when I saw that on a broken condition.

This is not a first time I encounter this careless behavior by you. If you pay the compensation for damages which has done. Moreover, pay for cleaning I will allow you to stay at my apartment next time.

Looking forward to hear from you.

your Sincerely,

Keshav

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 significance, and stating what you want your friend to do. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, although it becomes quite confrontational towards the end. The ideas are relevant and clearly presented, covering the requirements of the prompt effectively. To improve, ensure that the transition between the description of the damage and the request for compensation is smoother, as the current shift feels quite abrupt and aggressive, which might affect the overall tone of the letter.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is logically organized into distinct paragraphs, each serving a clear purpose. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Moreover' and 'because' to link ideas. However, the flow is occasionally hindered by minor errors in sentence structure and punctuation, such as the repetitive 'was was' and the fragmented sentence 'If you pay the compensation...'. While the progression of ideas is clear, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that sentences are fully formed would help the text flow more naturally.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message, such as 'significant role', 'careless behavior', and 'compensation'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and minor errors, such as 'stayed my apartment' (should be 'stayed at my apartment') and 'on a broken condition' (should be 'in a broken condition'). Additionally, 'dinning hall' should be 'dining room'. While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise control over collocations and preposition usage to reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an attempt to use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('I hope you and your family is' should be 'are'), missing articles ('stayed my apartment'), and punctuation errors. The sentence 'If you pay the compensation for damages which has done' is incomplete and grammatically incorrect. While the meaning remains clear, the frequency of these errors limits the score. Focusing on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article usage will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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