Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-11

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 5.0)

Dear Mary,

I hope you are doing very well.

I am writing to express my discomfort over my grey hp color flat screen laptop model window 2015 which the screen was damaged during your stay in my apartment when I was not around. I was not pleased to meet the laptop in that condition.

The laptop broke in a way that I cannot access the important information stored therein. It is very important to me because, it is what I use in the office for most of my work in the place of work. All the company:s information ,example, inventories, documents for the land purchased by the firm is in the laptop that has broken.

It is unfor

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, as it is only 118 words long and ends abruptly mid-sentence. While you have attempted to address the three bullet points—describing the laptop, explaining its importance, and stating what you would like the friend to do—the final point is incomplete. Because the letter is unfinished, the task is not fully addressed. To improve, ensure you complete all parts of the prompt and provide enough detail to meet the length requirement, which allows for a more thorough development of your ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter shows a basic attempt at organization, with an opening salutation and a clear paragraph structure. However, the abrupt ending significantly disrupts the flow and coherence of the text. Cohesive devices are limited; for example, the transition between the description of the damage and the explanation of its importance is somewhat mechanical. To improve, use a wider variety of linking words (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'as a result') to connect your ideas more fluidly and ensure that each paragraph has a clear, logical conclusion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally functional but limited. You rely on basic descriptors like 'broken' and 'important'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'meet the laptop in that condition' and 'in the place of work'. The spelling of 'company:s' is incorrect, and the phrasing is somewhat repetitive. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise vocabulary related to technology and professional settings, and ensure you use standard punctuation rather than symbols like the colon in 'company:s'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains several grammatical errors that affect clarity. For instance, 'which the screen was damaged' is grammatically incorrect; it should be 'the screen of which was damaged' or 'where the screen was damaged'. There are also issues with punctuation and sentence structure, such as the comma splice in 'important to me because, it is'. While some simple sentences are clear, the range of structures is limited, and the errors are frequent enough to cause some difficulty for the reader. Focus on mastering basic sentence construction and subject-verb agreement.

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

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