Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-08

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 5.5)

Dear Rejina,

I hope you're doing well, I'm writing to you that a valuable possession was broken while I were on a trip, during your stay at my apartment.

When I returned home, I found that the laptop wasn't working properly as its display has gone. I had given you for your official purpose, results damaged of my precious properties. It is important for me because all my official work was done through it, feels me difficult to complete my assignments. My boss gives me a warning for completing tasks but unable to do it.

I would request you to repair it because its costs around 7k for changing the display, provides me financial burden. It was damaged due to the improper use of this. Kindly request you to repair it soon as I got warning from my company.

I hope you will consider my problem and maintain it soon . I look forward a positive response from you soon.

Yours lovingly,

Radhika

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The letter addresses all three required points: it identifies the broken laptop and damaged display, explains that you rely on it for official work and assignments, and asks your friend to pay for the repair. The request is clear, and the reference to the repair cost gives it a practical basis. However, some details are less fully explained: “I had given you for your official purpose” is unclear about how the laptop was being used, and the claim that it was damaged through improper use is stated without explaining what happened. Develop these points more clearly and keep the tone considerate while making the request. The main purpose is understandable throughout, but parts of the explanation need greater clarity and support.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The information follows a sensible overall order: you explain the situation, describe the laptop and its importance, then make a request and close the letter. Paragraphing also helps separate these stages. Some links between ideas are less clear, however. For example, “I had given you for your official purpose, results damaged of my precious properties” makes the connection between lending the laptop and discovering the damage difficult to follow. The final paragraph repeats the request to repair it soon, and “I look forward a positive response” does not connect smoothly to the preceding sentence. Use clearer transitions and avoid repeating the same request so the letter progresses more naturally.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the situation, including “display,” “official work,” “assignments,” “repair,” and “financial burden,” so the reader can identify the problem and its consequences. However, several word choices and collocations are noticeably inaccurate or unclear, such as “the display has gone,” “results damaged of my precious properties,” and “maintain it soon.” These expressions make parts of the message harder to understand. Choose more natural phrases such as “the screen is damaged,” “this has damaged one of my valuable possessions,” and “have it repaired.” There is some repetition of “soon” and “repair,” so varying these expressions would also make the letter more precise and fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The letter includes both simple statements and attempts at longer structures, for example, “It is important for me because all my official work was done through it.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical errors make individual sentences difficult to follow. In “while I were on a trip,” the verb should agree with “I”; “I hope you're doing well, I'm writing” joins two independent clauses with only a comma; and “I look forward a positive response” is missing the preposition “to.” There are also unclear sentence constructions, including “feels me difficult to complete my assignments.” Practise accurate verb forms, sentence boundaries, and common patterns such as “find it difficult to” and “look forward to.”

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

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