Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-12

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 Allen,

I hope you are doing good. I just returned home from my trip. I am writing you to inform you about the issue that occured while I was away. I saw that the ceramic vase has been broken.

I understand you were staying at my place, and it might be an accident. However, it would have been better if you would have informed me about it when it occured. It was an ancient vase with a lot of cultural heritage. It carried a lot of emotions because my grandfather got it from Japan.

I didn't really expect this behaviour from you. I really want you to apologize to me for this behaviour. I would like a compensation of 200$ so that I can send it to a potter who can fix it. I feel it won't be the same again but I will fix it to save my grandfathers memories.

I really look forward to your response.

Thank you

Take care

Andrew.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three required points: you identify the ceramic vase, explain its sentimental and cultural importance through your grandfather’s gift from Japan, and request both an apology and money for repair. Your position is clear, and the detail about wanting to preserve your grandfather’s memories supports the request. The explanation of the damage could be more fully developed, however: you do not say how badly the vase is broken or whether you know how it happened. The request for compensation is specific, but explaining how you arrived at the amount or inviting your friend to discuss it would make the proposed next step more fully supported. Overall, the purpose and tone are clear, with some ideas developed more than others.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The message follows a clear progression: you introduce your return and the damage, explain the vase’s significance, then state what you want your friend to do. Paragraph breaks help distinguish these stages, and phrases such as “However” and “because” make relationships between ideas clear. The closing is also easy to follow. Some links could be more flexible and precise: “I am writing you to inform you about the issue” is a rather formulaic transition, while the shift from describing the vase to criticising your friend’s behaviour is abrupt. A brief sentence acknowledging the friendship or explaining why you are upset would smooth that transition. Overall, the organisation is logical, though a few connections feel mechanical.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the situation and your feelings, including “ceramic vase,” “cultural heritage,” “compensation,” and “memories.” These choices show an attempt to be specific and to use less common language. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “doing good,” “a lot of emotions,” and “save my grandfathers memories.” “Behaviour” is also repeated, which makes the wording less varied and sounds quite accusatory for a letter to a friend. Aim for more natural combinations and a tone that matches your purpose; for example, describe the vase as having “great sentimental value” and say you want to “preserve the memory” of your grandfather. Meaning remains clear despite these slips.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The letter includes a mix of simple sentences and more developed forms, such as “I understand you were staying at my place, and it might be an accident” and the clause explaining that your grandfather received the vase from Japan. Most ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors occur. In “it would have been better if you would have informed me,” the conditional form is not well controlled; use “if you had informed me.” The phrase “I am writing you” needs “to” in this construction, and “my grandfathers memories” needs an apostrophe to show possession. There is also a tense mismatch in “I feel it won’t be the same again but I will fix it.” More accurate control of conditionals, possessives, and sentence punctuation would strengthen the letter.

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

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