Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-20

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 6.5)

Dear Luis,

I hope you're well. I am really excited about the upcoming international food event, and I would be delighted to prepare a popular dish from my country.

The dish I have in mind is butter chicken. It is a rich and creamy dish made with tender pieces of chicken cooked in a buttery tomato-based sauce. Although it contains several spices, the level of heat can easily be adjusted to suit different tastes.

I think it would be a great addition to the event because it is a well-known South Asian dish but is also relatively mild. Some people assume that our cuisine is always extremely spicy, so butter chicken would be a good way to introduce them to its rich flavours without making the dish too hot.

I wish you all the best with the preparations and look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Amanda Cyrus

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

Amanda covers all three bullet points required in the prompt successfully. She offers to make a popular dish in the opening paragraph, clearly describes the dish as butter chicken with a rich and creamy tomato-based sauce, and explains why it should be included to dispel the myth that South Asian cuisine is overwhelmingly hot. The tone is entirely appropriate for a semi-formal letter to a club organizer, adopting a friendly and polite register. However, a strict word count check indicates the text is 149 words long, falling just 1 word short of the 150-word minimum requirement. Following official IELTS marking rules, this minor under-length results in a slight penalty to the Task Achievement score, preventing it from reaching a higher band. Despite this minor administrative drawback, the content is fully relevant and well-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter demonstrates a clear logical organization and progression throughout. It opens with an appropriate salutation and friendly opening, moves smoothly into the offer and description of the dish, explains the reasoning behind the choice in the third paragraph, and concludes with a natural closing statement and sign-off. Paragraphing is used logically, with each paragraph serving a distinct function. Cohesive devices are handled effectively without feeling forced, using transition words and referencing phrases such as 'The dish I have in mind', 'Although it contains', and 'I think it would be a great addition'. Referencing throughout is clear and easy to follow, allowing the reader to navigate the letter effortlessly. Overall, the structural control is strong and meets higher band criteria.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

Amanda demonstrates a sufficient and natural range of vocabulary suitable for a general task response. She successfully incorporates less common and topic-specific lexical items such as 'upcoming international food event', 'buttery tomato-based sauce', 'adjusted to suit different tastes', and 'introduce them to its rich flavours'. Word choice and collocations are generally accurate, and spelling is flawless. While the vocabulary is not overly sophisticated or academic, it is completely adequate for the task and conveys the intended meaning with precision and clarity. There are no noticeable lexical errors that impede communication, reflecting a solid command of everyday English vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The response features a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, showcasing the writer's grammatical flexibility. Examples of complex forms include concessive clauses ('Although it contains several spices, the level of heat can easily be adjusted...') and relative clauses ('...a dish made with tender pieces of chicken cooked in a buttery tomato-based sauce'). The majority of sentences are grammatically error-free, and punctuation is handled correctly throughout the letter. Control over verb tenses, modal verbs, and subject-verb agreement is consistent. The few minor limitations in structural variety keep it just below the highest bands, but the accuracy and natural flow of the grammar are commendable.

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

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