Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-04

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 7.5)

Dear Anu,

I hope you and your family are doing great. I wanted to talk to you regarding the unfortunate incident that might have happened in my apartment while I was away.

Yesterday, after my return, I noticed that my Mac-book was broken and was kept on the night table in my bedroom. It's display screen is not working properly. As it is the latest version which is quite expensive, the repair cost will also break by bank.

Regardless of price, it's very essential for me because I have all my work related and personal documents saved in it. Since yesterday, my employer had been requesting for a specific file which is also saved in it. Consequently, it is mandatory for me to have that repaired as soon as possible.

I would be very helpful for me if you could provide me with the details of what exactly happened to it. Moreover, some suggestions regarding the best mechanic in the town to repair my Laptop would also be appreciated.

I hope to see you soon and have a great weekend.

Warm regards,

Gurkirat Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points: describing the broken MacBook, explaining its importance, and requesting specific actions from the friend. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, maintaining a balance between being firm about the damage and remaining polite. The ideas are well-developed, particularly the explanation of why the laptop is essential for work. The response is fully relevant to the task instructions, and the purpose of the letter is clear from the outset. No parts of the prompt were omitted, and the development of the situation is logical and easy to follow.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task, which aids readability. Cohesive devices such as 'Regardless of price', 'Since yesterday', and 'Moreover' are used effectively to link ideas. The progression of information—from the discovery of the damage to the explanation of its importance and finally the request for help—is smooth. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different stages of the letter, ensuring that the reader can follow the narrative without difficulty.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

The vocabulary is generally appropriate for the task, with some good collocations like 'unfortunate incident' and 'mandatory'. However, there are a few minor inaccuracies. For instance, the phrase 'break by bank' is a misuse of the idiom 'break the bank'. Additionally, 'very helpful for me' is slightly unnatural in this context; 'very helpful if you could' or 'I would appreciate it if' would be more precise. Despite these minor slips, the range of vocabulary is sufficient to convey the message clearly and effectively throughout the letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The letter demonstrates a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some minor grammatical errors, such as 'It's display screen' (should be 'Its') and 'my employer had been requesting' (the present perfect continuous 'has been requesting' would be more accurate given the context). The punctuation is generally correct, though the possessive 'its' is confused with the contraction 'it's'. These errors are non-systematic and do not impede communication. The majority of the sentences are error-free, and the control over complex structures is generally good, supporting a solid band 7 performance.

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

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