Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-10

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You are a member of an International Students' club. The club is organising an event to celebrate popular food from around the world.

Write a letter to the event organiser, Luis. In your letter

• offer to make a popular dish from your country
• describe what this dish is
• explain why it should be included in the event

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Luis,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Luis,

I am writing this letter to let you know, I am also intrested to participate in upcoming club's event.

I would like to make a famous dish from my country. It known as Biryani. It will take a several hours to prepare.

Actually, this dish contain several thing such as, rice, various spices, curd and meat. Here I would like to explain briefly about it. Firstly, wash the meat with clean water then add a spices for the flavour like black pepper, coriender powder, chilli powder and fenu greek leaves. After that add curd which is amount of half of the meat weight. Now, leave it 2 hours for marination. At that time,start preparation for the rice.

In India, this dish is very popular. People loved taste of South Asian cousine, because of it's little spicy and tender meat.

I hope you will allow me for participation.

Thank you.

Mohammad

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three points: you offer to make biryani, identify its ingredients and preparation, and explain its popularity in India and appeal to people who enjoy South Asian food. The description is the most developed part, with a sequence of preparation steps, while the reason for including it is less fully explained. For example, “People loved taste of South Asian cousine” gives a general reason, but you could explain what makes the dish distinctive or how it would add variety to the event. The offer is clear, though “I hope you will allow me for participation” sounds more like a request for permission than a confident offer to contribute. A more direct closing would make your purpose clearer.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter has a recognisable structure: you introduce your interest, describe the dish and its preparation, explain its popularity, and close politely. Sequencing words such as “Firstly” and “After that” help readers follow the recipe. However, the progression is sometimes mechanical, and the paragraph about popularity feels separate from the detailed preparation rather than clearly linked to your reason for recommending the dish. Some connections are also unclear, as in “At that time,start preparation for the rice,” which does not explain how the rice preparation relates to the preceding steps. Use paragraphing to separate your offer, description and justification, and add clearer links between these ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “marination,” “various spices,” “tender meat” and “popular,” so the reader can understand the dish and its appeal. There are also attempts at more specific food vocabulary, such as “black pepper” and “coriender powder.” However, spelling errors and awkward word combinations are noticeable, including “intrested,” “fenu greek,” “South Asian cousine” and “loved taste.” Some choices are also imprecise: “a several hours” and “several thing” do not express the intended meanings naturally. Check spelling carefully and learn common collocations for describing ingredients, flavour and popularity to make your vocabulary more accurate and natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer instructions, including the sequence beginning “Firstly, wash the meat…” and the sentence explaining why people enjoy the dish. This gives the letter some structural variety, and the main message remains understandable. However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction recur. For example, “It known as Biryani” needs a verb, “this dish contain” needs subject–verb agreement, and “I am writing this letter to let you know, I am also interested” joins two clauses incorrectly. The instruction “leave it 2 hours” also needs a preposition. Practise accurate basic sentence patterns first, then build longer sentences with clear clause boundaries and correct verb forms.

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