Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-11-02

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 5.5)

Dear john,

I Arjun Patel writng this letter to inform that last week you were satying at my house At that time you broke the antique glass and it fallen on the ground when I come back from my office i have found broken glass inside your room.You have to be careful regarding the cleaning there may be some one hurt from pieces

Do not worry I have clean room for you and throw that broken glass peices in the garbage but it was a gift from grandfather to my mother so she is very fond of that glass so i need to replace it If can you bring new glass from winner store beacuse I m very busy in work so it is not possible for me to go out for buying new glass. I will send you the picture of glass and address of store so you can no problem in finding the location.

Thank you

Arjun Patel

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The letter addresses all three required points: it identifies the antique glass as broken, explains its family significance (“a gift from grandfather to my mother”), and asks your friend to buy a replacement from a named store. The request is understandable and the offer to send a picture and the store address makes it practical. However, some details are less fully developed: the description of the possession is brief, and the explanation of its importance could say more about its history or sentimental value. The opening also says your friend broke it, but the circumstances are not entirely clear. To strengthen the response, describe the item more precisely and make the requested action and any expectations about the replacement explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The information follows a generally sensible order: you explain what happened, mention the cleanup and the glass’s importance, then make a request and offer directions. This gives the reader an overall coherent account. However, the ideas are crowded into one long paragraph, and transitions between the accident, the warning about glass pieces, and the replacement request are abrupt. Some references are also unclear, such as “it” in “it was a gift,” which could refer to the broken glass or the room. Use separate paragraphs for the incident, its significance, and your request, and add clear links such as “Because it was a family gift…” to make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main situation, including “antique glass,” “broken glass,” “gift,” and “replace.” The family connection is relevant and helps convey why the item matters. However, the range is limited, and several word-choice, spelling, and collocation problems make the letter less natural, including “satying,” “peices,” “winner store,” and “cleaning” where you appear to mean handling or clearing up the broken glass. “New glass” is also vague for a valuable antique possession. Choose more precise terms such as “glass ornament” or “antique vase,” if accurate, and check spelling and natural combinations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts to connect ideas in longer sentences, for example when explaining the gift and asking your friend to buy a replacement. The main message remains understandable, but some sentence structures and verb forms are inaccurate: “it fallen on the ground” should be “it fell to the ground,” and “when I come back” should be “when I came back.” There are also problems with articles and sentence boundaries, as in “I have found broken glass inside your room,” followed by several ideas without clear punctuation. Use a mix of shorter, complete sentences and carefully controlled complex sentences. Check past-tense consistency when narrating the incident and punctuate each request or explanation clearly.

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

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