Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-11

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 jenny,

i hope you are fine and enjoy yours days.Respectfully i want to tell you that when i came back my lamp is broken.It is on the side table of my bed.

when i was in London my husband gift me this lamp on our first engagement anniversary. This is very important for me I feel very bad and disappointed.I never expecte this type of carelessness from you. I'm not blame you .

Please come and meet me as soon as possible so we find any way of how to give him new life

you're loveing

xyx

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You cover the main situation and all three requested points: you identify the lamp, explain that your husband gave it to you for your first engagement anniversary, and ask Jenny to meet so you can discuss restoring it. These details make the letter relevant and give it a personal purpose. However, the request is vague, and the importance of the lamp could be explained more fully. The response also contains only 98 words, so it does not meet the required minimum of 150; this leaves the ideas under-developed and the task only partially addressed. Add specific details about the damage and clearly state what you want Jenny to do, such as help arrange or pay for a repair.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The ideas follow a broadly sensible order: you open with a greeting, describe the broken lamp, explain its sentimental value, and finish with a request. This gives the reader a basic sense of the letter’s purpose. However, the response is presented as one continuous block, and the links between ideas are sometimes abrupt—for example, the shift from the lamp’s importance to “I never expecte this type of carelessness from you.” Some transitions and references are also unclear. Use separate paragraphs for the problem, its significance, and your request, and connect them with simple, accurate phrases such as “The reason it matters so much is that…” and “Could you please…?”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough basic vocabulary to communicate the central message, including “lamp,” “side table,” “important,” and “disappointed.” The personal detail about the anniversary also helps make the letter specific. However, the range is limited, and several word choices or phrases are inaccurate or unnatural, which can make the reader pause. For example, “give him new life” is not a natural way to describe repairing a lamp, and “enjoy yours days” is unclear. Spelling and word-form errors such as “expecte” and “loveing” are noticeable. Build a more precise range for describing damage, sentimental value, and practical requests, and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The letter mainly uses short, simple statements, with a few attempts to connect ideas, such as “when i came back” and “when i was in London.” These structures communicate the basic sequence of events, but the range is limited and errors occur frequently. For instance, “when i came back my lamp is broken” shifts tense inappropriately; “my husband gift me this lamp” has an incorrect verb form; and “I’m not blame you” has an incorrect sentence structure. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, including lowercase “i” and missing spaces after full stops. Practise past-tense forms and simple clauses joined with accurate conjunctions, then proofread each sentence for verb form and punctuation.

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

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