Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-13

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 John,

I hope this letter finds you well. I'm writing to thank you for taking care of my apartement while I was away on a tour. Unfortunately, the flower vase kept on the table that I found it broken.

It was a white cemented flower pot. I bought this vase when I went to Germany for my business meetings. Apparentely, it was one of the rarest item taht was kept in the exibition. Apart from that, I spent for all most $600 on it.

The pot is really close to my heart as I went along with my grandmother in taht exhibition. One of the significant reason why I am fond of that pot is becasue she customized it with her handwritten signature on it. She is not with us anymore but her items always keep me in touch with her. Therefore, this was disappoinment for me.

Let bygones be bygones! Could you please help me fix the flower pot or if you can contribute money I can get it repair from the shop. I don't want a replacement of this item as it won't solve the problem.

I hope you'll help me in this situation and deal it in a mature way.

Best wishes,

Ridhima

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The letter addresses all three required points: you identify the broken vase, explain its connection to your grandmother and ask John to help repair it or contribute towards the cost. The personal detail about her handwritten signature makes the reason for its importance clear. Your request is also understandable, and you appropriately reject a replacement. Some points are less fully developed: the description of the damage is brief, and the proposed contribution is not specific about how much or how you would arrange the repair. The closing request to “deal it in a mature way” may also sound more confrontational than intended. A more precise description and a tactful, clearly stated request would make the letter more complete and effective.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The information is arranged in a sensible sequence: you open with the situation, describe the vase, explain its sentimental value, and then make your request. Paragraphing helps distinguish these stages, and links such as “Apart from that,” “Therefore,” and “I hope” guide the reader through the letter. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, “Therefore, this was disappointment for me” does not smoothly connect the explanation of your grandmother’s signature to your reaction. The shift from asking John to help repair the vase to asking him to “deal it in a mature way” also weakens the progression. Use more natural transitions and make the final request consistent with the polite tone of the rest of the letter.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the situation and its emotional significance, including “rare,” “customized,” “handwritten signature,” and “replacement.” These choices show an attempt to be specific rather than relying entirely on basic words. However, several spelling errors and inaccurate or unnatural word choices reduce precision, such as “apartement,” “Apparentely,” “exibition,” and “disappoinment.” Some phrases are also awkward: “white cemented flower pot” and “contribute money” do not express the intended meaning as naturally as “white ceramic vase” and “contribute towards the repair cost.” Check spelling carefully and learn common collocations for describing objects, damage, and financial requests.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The letter includes a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the explanation beginning “One of the significant reason why…” and the conditional request “if you can contribute money…”. Most of the message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. In “the flower vase kept on the table that I found it broken,” the relative clause is incorrectly formed and includes an unnecessary “it”; a clearer version is “I found the flower vase on the table broken.” There are also agreement and article errors in “one of the rarest item” and “One of the significant reason.” Review relative clauses, singular/plural agreement, and sentence construction, while keeping the useful variety of structures you attempt.

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

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