Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-14

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 a letter as i am seeking to get permission from you beacuse the food festival is organsing i wanted to make a famous dish from my country called 'butter chicken'. This dish includes variety of spices and chicken. The process to make this dish is as following as You will heat the pan then put some oil or ghee then once the it got heated you will chopped onion then let them turn brown. After turning brown we will put some water and some differend kinds of spices that will inhance the taste of the dish . once the spices mix up well then we will add our chicken and then we will wait for 15-20 for it to cook. At the end we gonna serve this dish with naan . i wanted to include this dish as will represent my country moreover i am preety sure that anyone who will try this dish will like it.

yours faithfully,

mandeep

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three points: you offer to prepare butter chicken, describe its ingredients and cooking process, and explain that it represents your country and may appeal to visitors. The dish is relevant and the cooking steps give the organiser a clear idea of what you would contribute. However, the reason for including it is only briefly developed: saying that people will like it is a prediction rather than specific support, and you could explain its popularity or distinctive flavour. The request for permission is also somewhat indirect and could be stated more clearly. Overall, the main purpose is clear, though some parts—especially the justification—are less fully developed than the description.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The information follows a broadly sensible order, moving from your offer to the recipe and then to why the dish belongs at the event. The sequence of cooking steps is understandable, and words such as “then,” “once,” and “at the end” help show progression. However, nearly the whole letter is presented as one paragraph, so the offer, description, and reason are not clearly separated. Some linking is repetitive or awkward, particularly the repeated use of “then” and “once,” while the long recipe sentence makes the progression harder to follow. Use separate paragraphs and a wider, more precise range of transitions to make the organisation clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic vocabulary to explain the dish, including “spices,” “ghee,” “onion,” “chicken,” and “naan.” These specific terms make the recipe understandable, and “represent my country” communicates your reason for offering it. However, the range is fairly basic and some expressions are imprecise or informal, such as “some differend kinds of spices,” “mix up well,” and “we gonna serve.” There are also spelling errors, including “beacuse,” “organsing,” “inhance,” and “preety,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise food-related phrasing and a consistently appropriate tone for a letter to an event organiser.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences to describe the cooking process, and the reader can generally understand the intended sequence. However, control is uneven, especially in the longer constructions. For example, “i am seeking to get permission from you beacuse the food festival is organsing” has an unclear clause structure, while “once the it got heated you will chopped onion” combines inconsistent tense and an incorrect verb form. Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention, as in “includes variety of spices” and the extended recipe sentence. Practise forming clear sentences with consistent present-tense instructions, and check capitalisation and punctuation so that each step is easy to read.

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

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