Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-28

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 Isabella,

I hope you are doing well. It's been a while seeing you. I am writing this letter to inform you that during your stay at my house, I have found my washing maschine was broken and not working properly.

To begin with, Last month, I was on a business trip in Canada. Due to some reason, I have decided to let you stay at my building. However, during that time, you were asking me to how to operate washing maschine. You have pressed any different buttons and now it is stopped working properly.

Furthermore, It was really close to my heart as my grandparents gave me as a gift on my last birthday. Moreover, it is really essential for me for laundry. Nevertheless, I would like you to put an request to the company as I am busy with my office job. I would really appreciate your help with this matter. Let's make a plan to meet each other in the next month. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Bye, take care.

Lots of love,

Riddhi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The writer successfully covers all three bullet points required in the task instructions. The letter begins by describing the broken possession (the washing machine) and explains why it is important to the writer, noting both its sentimental value as a birthday gift from grandparents and its practical necessity. Finally, the writer clearly explains what they would like the friend to do, which is to contact the company to arrange for repairs since the writer is busy with work. The tone is generally appropriate for writing to a friend, maintaining politeness while addressing a sensitive issue. All parts of the prompt are addressed adequately, placing this response at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter is coherent overall and follows a logical structure. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different points, moving from the introduction of the issue to the explanation of its importance and finally the request for help. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'Nevertheless', though some feel slightly mechanical or are used a bit unnaturally in an informal letter to a friend. Referencing is generally clear, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow from start to finish, supporting a Band 6.0 score.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with some attempts at less common phrasing such as 'close to my heart' and 'business trip'. However, there are notable spelling errors, most centrally 'maschine' instead of 'machine', which is repeated. Word choice and collocation are occasionally awkward, such as 'put an request' instead of 'make a request' or 'lodge a request'. While communication is never impeded and the meaning remains clear throughout, these lexical slips and spelling inaccuracies limit the score to a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional or time clauses such as 'during your stay at my house, I have found...' and 'as I am busy with my office job.' However, there are several grammatical errors and tense inconsistencies throughout the text, such as 'It's been a while seeing you' (instead of 'seeing you' or 'since seeing you'), 'I have found my washing maschine was broken' (tense shift), and 'you were asking me to how to operate' (unnecessary preposition). Despite these errors, they rarely impede communication, allowing for a Band 5.5.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.