Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

Dear Kushal,

Hi! I am writing this letter to tell you what you did in my apartment. How you broke my painting which I hung in my living area. Moreover, You did not informe about this sitution. you not broke only my painting, you broke my hart.

Well, When I gave you key of my appartment I told you take care of my this painting it is very close to my hart, even so you broke my painting. I am very sad when I entered my apartment and show this broken painting.

This wallpaper my wife gifted me, and it is made by her. It was hand made painting. My wife prepared this painting after six months. And she told me take care of this painting and right now am worrind and

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student covers all three bullet points required in the prompt: they describe the broken possession (a painting/wallpaper), explain its importance (gifted by the wife, handmade over six months, close to the heart), and state what they want the friend to do (acknowledge the situation and address the damage). However, the letter is unfinished and ends abruptly mid-sentence, which limits the development of ideas. Furthermore, as noted in the length check, the response is 132 words long, failing to meet the minimum requirement of 150 words. Consequently, Task Achievement is penalised for length and under-development, resulting in a band score of 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The letter maintains a clear purpose, but the overall organization and progression are hindered by very poor paragraphing and abrupt transitions. The student uses basic cohesive devices like 'Moreover' and 'Well', but these are often used awkwardly. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as shifting between calling the item a 'painting', a 'wallpaper', and 'this wallpaper'. There are no clear thematic links between the fragmented sentences, which creates a jerky reading experience. While the writer's intent is understandable, the structural flaws prevent it from reaching a higher band. Therefore, a band score of 5.0 is awarded for Coherence and Cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, relying on simple terms like 'broken', 'painting', 'apartment', and 'sad'. There are several noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'informe about this sitution' instead of 'inform me about this situation', 'you not broke only' instead of 'not only did you break', and 'show this broken painting' instead of 'saw this broken painting'. Spelling errors are also present ('siture', 'worrind', 'hart'). The lexical range is limited and minimally adequate for the task, meaning it qualifies for a band score of 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control is weak. There are frequent grammatical errors, incorrect verb tenses, and missing auxiliary verbs (e.g., 'you not broke only my painting', 'I am very sad when I entered... and show...'). Punctuation and capitalization are also faulty in places, such as starting clauses incorrectly or using sentence fragments. These errors cause some difficulty for the reader and demonstrate a limited range of accurate structures. For these reasons, a band score of 5.0 is appropriate.

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

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