Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-27

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 Linda,

I hope you are doing well and your stay at my apartment was comfortable. I am writing this letter to you regarding the broken ice globe i saw in my study.

I was very heartbroken to see my ice globe that holds a deep connection to me shattered into pieces. My grandmother gifted it to me on my graduation, it was the only thing that made me feel connected to her after her death last year. It was in my study to remind me how proud she was when i graduated and this gave me an internal motivation to do better in my career moving forward.

I felt more devastated when i found it myself instead of you mentioning it to me yourself. I would have really appreciated if you could come up to me and apologised instead of letting me figure it out myself. Obviously you cant bring it back and nor can you replace it so what i expect is that we can sit and talk and make things less awkward between us instead. I will be waiting for your response.

Yours sincerely,

Mahnoor

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The letter addresses all three required points: you identify the broken ice globe, explain its connection to your grandmother and graduation, and say you would prefer to talk together. The personal explanation is the strongest part, especially the detail that it reminded you how proud your grandmother was. The request is also clear, but it focuses mainly on an apology and reducing awkwardness; it could be more fully developed by stating a specific next step, such as asking Linda to meet and discuss what happened. The opening and closing suit a personal letter, although “Yours sincerely” is more formal than the friendly relationship suggests. The response is relevant throughout, but some parts of the requested action are less fully explained than the possession’s importance.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The ideas progress in a clear order: you open by explaining why you are writing, describe the globe and its significance, then express your feelings and make a request. Paragraphing helps distinguish these stages, and links such as “I felt more devastated when” make the emotional progression easy to follow. The letter is coherent throughout, with no major difficulty following the message. To make the organisation feel more polished, separate the description of the damage from the explanation of its personal importance, and make the final request a distinct, direct step. Some connections in the last paragraph are packed into a long sequence, so shorter sentences would give the apology request and invitation to talk clearer emphasis.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of vocabulary to communicate both the damage and your feelings. Phrases such as “shattered into pieces,” “deep connection,” and “internal motivation” show attempts to express personal meaning beyond basic description. Some choices are less natural or precise in context: “ice globe” may not clearly identify the object, and “come up to me” is not the usual expression for approaching someone to apologise. “Heartbroken” and “devastated” also convey similar feelings, so varying or moderating the wording could improve precision. Overall, the message remains clear, but more natural collocations and a little greater flexibility in describing the object and the requested conversation would strengthen the vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The letter includes both straightforward sentences and more complex structures, including “I was very heartbroken to see…” and the clause beginning “instead of letting me figure it out myself.” Meaning is generally clear, and the writer attempts to connect ideas in varied ways. Some grammatical and punctuation errors remain. For example, the sentence “My grandmother gifted it to me on my graduation, it was…” joins two independent clauses with only a comma; use a full stop or a conjunction. In “I would have really appreciated if,” the construction needs “it” after “appreciated.” Capitalise “I” consistently, and punctuate “Obviously, you can’t bring it back…” carefully. These are noticeable but do not prevent understanding.

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

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