Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-25

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 Sam,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to you because I was quite upset to find that my laptop was broken when I returned from my trip.

The fact is that when I returned from my vacation and I was looking for my laptop because I need it for my work and on that time I saw my laptop sreen is craked. It was damaged while you were staying at my apartment. You know it very well my work is totally depends upon laptop and it was a gift from my husband on my last birthday so it has sentimental value for me. I used it daily for my my work and study.

Please tell me how the accident happened. I would appreciate if you pay for the repair and please take it to a professional repair shop. I hope we can resolve this issue without affecting our friendship.

I hope you understand my situation and I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Kiran

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three required points and maintains a clear, appropriately concerned tone. You identify the damaged item as your laptop, explain both its practical importance for work and study and its sentimental value as a birthday gift from your husband, and ask Sam to explain what happened and pay for a professional repair. These details make your request understandable and support your position. To make the response more fully developed, describe the damage a little more precisely and clarify the practical next step, such as asking Sam to arrange the repair or agree on how the cost will be handled. Overall, the purpose is clear and the key ideas are relevant, though some could be extended further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter follows a sensible progression: it opens by explaining your upset, gives the circumstances and importance of the laptop, then makes a request and closes politely. Paragraphing helps distinguish the opening from the explanation and request. Linking phrases such as “The fact is” and “I hope” make the relationships between ideas clear, although some transitions feel formulaic, and the long middle paragraph combines several points without enough separation. The repeated reference to returning from your trip also slows the progression. To strengthen cohesion, group the damage and its circumstances together, then give the laptop’s practical and sentimental importance in a separate paragraph before making the request. This would make the organisation more controlled and the links less noticeable.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the situation and your feelings, including “sentimental value,” “professional repair shop,” and “resolve this issue.” These phrases suit the purpose of a personal letter. However, the range is somewhat repetitive, particularly with repeated references to “laptop,” “work,” and “I hope,” and several spelling or word-choice errors reduce accuracy: “sreen,” “craked,” and “on that time.” Some expressions are also unnatural, such as “my work is totally depends upon laptop.” Aim for more precise, natural phrasing while keeping the friendly tone—for example, refer to the laptop as “the device” where the meaning remains clear, and describe the screen as “cracked.” This would improve flexibility and control without making the letter overly formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response attempts both simple and more complex sentences, and the closing request and explanation are generally understandable. However, errors in sentence structure and verb forms are noticeable, especially in the long sentence beginning “The fact is that when I returned…” The phrase “my work is totally depends” has an incorrect verb construction, while “I would appreciate if you pay” needs a more accurate conditional pattern. There are also problems with articles and sentence boundaries, as in “I saw my laptop sreen is craked.” Break the long explanation into shorter sentences and check subject–verb agreement, tense consistency, and conditional forms. For example: “My work depends on my laptop” and “I would appreciate it if you could pay for the repair.”

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

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