Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-09

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You have a problem in your apartment that needs repairs.

Write a letter to the building manager. In your letter
• describe the problem.
• say what you think should be done about it.
• ask the building manager to visit your apartment to see the problem.

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear _________,

Student answer (Band 5.0)

Dear sie ,

I hope you are doing well .

I am writing this letter to inform you that my ceiling is leaking , due to this my room become dirty and moreover there is also a weird odour now .

I think you should call a plumber and labor to sort this issue . Cementing this ceiling can resolve this matter or w

e can replace it with new one .we can reconstruct the rooms with high quality products .

Please visit to the apartment to see the issue I am facing , may be you'll find other ways to sort this that would be cost effective as well .

I am looking forward your presence please inform me when you'll come .

Thanks

Your friend ,

Saba .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points: describing the problem, suggesting solutions, and requesting a visit. However, the response is significantly under the 150-word minimum requirement, which negatively impacts the development of ideas. The suggestions provided, such as 'reconstruct the rooms with high quality products', are somewhat unrealistic for a simple ceiling leak, suggesting a lack of focus on the practical nature of the task. Because the response is under-length and the ideas are not fully extended, it falls into the lower band range.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is logically organized, moving from the problem to the proposed solution and finally the request for a visit. However, the paragraphing is poor; the entire body of the letter is essentially one block, which hinders readability. Cohesive devices are very limited, relying on basic connectors like 'and' or 'moreover'. The flow between sentences is somewhat mechanical, and the lack of clear paragraph breaks makes the structure feel underdeveloped.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is basic and repetitive. Phrases like 'sort this issue' and 'sort this' are used twice, indicating a limited range. There are also errors in word choice, such as using 'labor' (which refers to the workforce) instead of 'a contractor' or 'a repairman'. The tone is also inconsistent; starting with 'Dear sie' (a misspelling of 'Sir') and ending with 'Your friend' is inappropriate for a formal letter to a building manager.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are several grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'my room become dirty' (tense error), 'visit to the apartment' (unnecessary preposition), and 'I am looking forward your presence' (missing preposition 'to'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with spaces before commas and periods. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of errors and the reliance on simple sentence structures limit the score.

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

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