Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-31

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 Y,

I hope you are doing well. I hope you enjoyed staying at my apartment while I was gone. I just got back from my trip.

I wanted to bring to your attention about one of my valuable possessions which i found broken right after I came back. It is my mug made of glass. It was a gift from my mother when I left my hometown for doing my studies in abroad. It is something I really felt so close attachment with my roots but it is gone now.

If you could kindly give me an explanation of what happened and I can decide what can be done. I would really appreciate if you can response me back so that We can resolve the situation soon.

I look forward hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Tajrin.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed all three bullet points: describing the item, explaining its importance, and requesting action. However, the response is under the 150-word minimum, which limits the development of your ideas. For instance, the description of the mug is quite brief, and the explanation of its importance could be expanded with more detail about the emotional connection. To improve, ensure you provide more descriptive language and elaborate on your points to meet the length requirement, which will allow you to demonstrate a fuller development of your ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical structure with a clear opening and closing. Paragraphing is used, though the paragraphs are quite short. You use some basic cohesive devices like 'If you could' and 'so that', but the flow between sentences could be improved with a wider range of linking words. Referencing is generally clear, but the transition between the description of the item and the request for action is somewhat abrupt. Using more varied transition signals would help the ideas connect more smoothly.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. Phrases like 'valuable possessions' and 'felt so close attachment' are understandable but slightly unnatural. There are some minor errors in word choice, such as 'doing my studies in abroad' (should be 'studying abroad'). To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more sophisticated collocations and idiomatic expressions that are appropriate for a semi-formal or informal letter to a friend.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. However, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'I wanted to bring to your attention about' (remove 'about'), 'response me back' (should be 'respond to me'), and 'I look forward hearing' (should be 'I look forward to hearing'). These errors do not prevent understanding, but they occur frequently enough to affect the overall accuracy. Focusing on correct preposition usage and verb forms will help improve your score.

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

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