Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-18

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 5.5)

Dear Amit,

Hope you're doing great. I'm writing to tell you about my roti maker which you used during your stay at my apartment was broken.

It was red in colour with white led . It was working fine when I went for the trip.but after returning from my trip I found that it was broken. It was very important for my and near to my heart as I got it as a gift from my mother. It remembers me my mother and I always used it to make roti for my family .

I understand that accidents can happen and I am not angry with you. I would really appreciate if you could take it a good roti maker repair because I am very busy at this time

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The letter covers all three bullet points: describing the item, explaining its importance, and stating the desired action. However, the response is significantly under the 150-word minimum, which limits the development of your ideas. While the tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, the brevity prevents you from fully expanding on the narrative or the request. To improve, you should elaborate more on the specific nature of the damage and perhaps add a closing sentence to maintain the friendly tone. Because the response is 21 words short of the requirement, the task is only partially addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into three short paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat abrupt. You use basic cohesive devices like 'but' and 'and', but there is a lack of more sophisticated linking words or referencing to connect your sentences smoothly. For example, the transition between describing the item and explaining its importance could be improved with better signposting. Paragraphing is present, but the overall flow feels a bit mechanical due to the short, simple sentence structures used throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message, such as 'valuable possession' and 'accidents can happen'. However, there are some awkward collocations and word choice errors, such as 'it remembers me my mother' (should be 'reminds me of') and 'take it a good roti maker repair' (should be 'take it to a repair shop'). These errors occasionally impede the natural flow of the letter. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise verbs and natural phrasing rather than literal translations from your native language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response relies heavily on simple sentence structures. While you attempt some complex sentences, they often contain errors, such as 'my roti maker which you used... was broken' (a relative clause error). There are also issues with articles and prepositions, such as 'in colour with white led' and 'important for my'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after periods and incorrect capitalization. To improve, you should practice using a wider variety of complex structures, such as conditional sentences or passive voice, while ensuring that basic subject-verb agreement and punctuation are accurate.

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

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