Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-23

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 Aman,

I hope you are doing well and had a peaceful stay at my apartment last week. I just noticed something. So, thought of discussing that with you. It seems that my favourite wall clock is broken already. I was trying to put an alarm on it but it isn't working. It was my favourite and most valuable thing as that was given by my father to me and you know that he is not with us anymore. Do you know anything about it that why it happened because if there is a hint for me that if it felt on ground or its just an iternal issue. I can find a way to fix it in correct way rather that just puzzling on what has been done to it.

i hope you understand and hoping to heard back from you as I don't think i can just live without it.

Yours Truely

Simran

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the broken possession as your favourite wall clock and explain its personal importance by saying your father gave it to you and is no longer alive. You also ask Aman whether it fell or developed an internal fault, which gives the letter a relevant purpose. However, the request about what you would like your friend to do is not clear: asking for information is not the same as making a specific request, such as asking them to explain what happened or help arrange a repair. The clock’s description and the next steps are also only briefly developed. Make your request explicit and explain what action you expect from your friend.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter follows a recognisable order: a friendly opening, the problem, its emotional significance, and a closing. This helps the reader understand the general situation. However, the progression becomes difficult to follow in the long sentence beginning “Do you know anything about it,” where several questions and explanations are joined together. “So, thought of discussing that with you” also does not connect smoothly to the previous sentence. Use clearer paragraphing to separate the problem from its importance and your request, and divide long ideas into shorter sentences. The closing repeats the hope of hearing back, but the overall organisation is still understandable.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary to communicate the situation and its emotional importance, including “favourite wall clock,” “valuable thing,” and “internal issue.” The wording about your father also conveys why the possession matters to you. However, several expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “put an alarm on it,” “hint for me,” and “puzzling on what has been done to it.” These choices make parts of the message less clear and limit the precision of your vocabulary. Aim for natural collocations that describe the clock’s condition and the help you want, such as “set the alarm,” “any idea what happened,” and “work out how it was damaged.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, and the main message can generally be understood. However, complex structures are often faulty, as in “Do you know anything about it that why it happened” and “hoping to heard back from you.” There are also errors in sentence formation and verb forms: “So, thought of discussing that with you” lacks a clear subject, while “if it felt on ground” does not form the intended conditional correctly. Capitalisation and punctuation are inconsistent, particularly in “i hope” and the long, comma-linked sentence. Use complete sentences, check verb forms, and separate connected ideas with full stops.

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

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