Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-28
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)
I am writing this letter to offer to make a delicious and popular dish from my home country India
India is famous for its diverse culture and food . Many members belongs to India so if adding the famous dish of their country make them feel like the sense of belonging .
The dish is Kheer . It is made up from rice, milk and sugar . People of india usually made this one as a desert during their festivals and celebration .
By adding this dish other member get to know about food diversity of other country and also the taste of this dish will give more satisfaction to the guest
i hope you consider my request .
Yours Sincerely
harman
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses all three bullet points: offering to make a dish, describing it, and explaining its inclusion. However, the response is significantly under the 150-word minimum, which limits the development of ideas. The explanation of why the dish should be included is quite brief and lacks depth. To improve, you should expand on the cultural significance of the dish and provide more detail about how it would enhance the event experience for other students. Because the length requirement was not met, the task is not fully developed.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The letter follows a basic structure with an introduction, body, and closing. Paragraphing is present, but the transitions between ideas are somewhat abrupt. For example, the jump from the introduction to the description of the dish lacks a smooth cohesive link. While the logical progression is generally easy to follow, the use of cohesive devices is limited and occasionally mechanical. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and phrases to connect your sentences and paragraphs more fluidly.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite basic. You use simple terms like 'delicious', 'popular', and 'famous' repeatedly. There is an attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary such as 'diverse culture' and 'food diversity', but the range is limited. There are also minor errors in word choice, such as 'made this one as a desert' (should be 'dessert') and 'member get to know' (should be 'members get to know'). Expanding your vocabulary to include more precise descriptive adjectives and collocations would improve your score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentences. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the flow of the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('Many members belongs to India'), missing articles ('adding the famous dish of their country'), and punctuation errors. While the meaning is generally clear, these persistent errors prevent the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on basic subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles will significantly improve the accuracy of your writing.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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