Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-14

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 6.0)

Dear Sir,

I hope this letter finds you well.

I am writing to file a complaint about the gas stove, which has not been working properly for the past week.

Cooking with a broken stove for two people is very troubling, as it took too much time from the usual. The gas valve stopped working; mainly two out of five valves are broken.

I think something is wrong with the wiring inside the stove, as they are working fine for some time.

I kindly request you to make a visit with a certified technician to get an idea about the issue. If the stove is repairable, please provide me a replacement for the time it's been repaired

I am looking forward to quick measures about this problem at your earliest convinence.

Best regards

Shubham

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student covers all bullet points required in the task instructions. The problem is described as a broken gas stove where the valve stopped working. The student suggests what should be done by requesting a replacement if repair is not possible, and asks the manager to visit with a certified technician. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a building manager. However, the response has a negative impact on Task Achievement because the word count is 134 words, which fails to meet the minimum requirement of 150 words. This under-length results in a penalty, restricting the band score to 5.5, even though all prompt requirements are addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter maintains a clear purpose throughout and has an overall coherent arrangement. The student uses standard letter conventions by starting with a suitable opening and ending with 'Best regards'. Paragraphing is attempted, though some paragraphs are very brief or consist of single sentences, such as 'I hope this letter finds you well.' Cohesive devices are minimal, and referencing is occasionally weak, as seen in the phrase 'as they are working fine', where the antecedent for 'they' is slightly ambiguous given the context. Progression between ideas is sometimes disjointed due to the abrupt shifts between sentences. Overall, the organization meets the criteria for Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, including functional phrases like 'file a complaint', 'certified technician', and 'at your earliest convenience'. However, there are some noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'take too much time from the usual' instead of 'take much longer than usual', and a spelling error in 'convinence' (convenience). Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended message to the reader, but the slips prevent the response from reaching a higher band, placing it comfortably at Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, such as 'I am writing to file a complaint about the gas stove, which has not been working properly for the past week.' There are several grammatical errors and awkward structures, including 'as it took too much time from the usual' and 'please provide me a replacement for the time it's been repaired' (missing preposition 'with' and slight tense confusion). Punctuation is generally acceptable, though commas are occasionally misused or omitted. These errors do not impede overall communication, allowing the student to achieve a Band 6 for grammatical range and accuracy.

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

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