Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-25

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 6.5)

Dear Akash,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing this email with a heavy heart that today when I returned home I noticed that my antique wrist watch is damaged while you were staying at my apartment.

The watch was an antique german made wrist watch bought by my great grandfather and it is also my family heritage possession that my father got as a gift on his 18th birthday. I am deeply concerned that my father will be extremely angry with both of us as soon as he finds out about the broken watch.

Simultaneously, I know it must be an accident no thet deliberate act to damage the watch, However, I am requesting you to find any watch reparing shop that can bring back the older version of the watch or we have to find another watch with similar model and color because this watch is too close to my father's heart and I do not want to heart my father, So lets find out about alternate watch or repair shop together.

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks and Regards,

Tarspreet

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The student successfully addresses all three bullet points required by the task prompt. First, the broken possession is clearly described as an antique German-made wristwatch. Second, its importance is explained through its family heritage and its sentimental value to the writer's father. Third, the desired action is clearly outlined, asking the friend to help locate a repair shop or find a similar replacement. The tone is polite yet firm, suitable for a letter to a friend in an awkward situation. The ideas are relevant and well-developed, matching the Band 7 descriptor for covering all parts of the prompt with clear positioning and sufficient extension throughout the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter maintains a clear logical organisation and progression from the opening greeting through the description, explanation of importance, proposed solution, and sign-off. Cohesive devices are used adequately, such as 'Simultaneously,' and 'However,' though some transitions feel slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct points, such as separating the description and sentimental value from the proposed actions. Referencing is generally clear, and the overall arrangement allows the reader to follow the narrative easily. This aligns closely with the Band 6.5 to 7.0 descriptors, comfortably earning a Band 7.0 for clear logical progression and manageable cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate and generally appropriate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully employing terms such as 'antique wrist watch,' 'family heritage possession,' and 'deliberate act.' There are some vocabulary and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'reparing' instead of 'repairing,' 'older version' instead of 'original condition,' and 'heart' instead of 'hurt' ('do not want to heart my father'). Despite these slips, the lexical range is sufficient to convey the intended message clearly without impeding communication. These characteristics place the response firmly in the Band 6 range, showing sufficient flexibility with occasional word-choice and spelling errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The student exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as using relative clauses ('that my father got as a gift') and concessive clauses. However, there are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues, notably run-on sentences and comma splices, as seen in 'we have to find another watch with similar model and color because this watch is too close to my father's heart and I do not want to heart my father, So lets find out...' While these errors do not impede overall communication, their frequency prevents the paper from reaching higher band levels where error-free complex sentences predominate. This performance is consistent with the Band 6 descriptor.

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