Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-14

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 John a member of International students' club at our University and I am writing to request to put a stall for a very popular dish from my home country at our event for international food.

The dish is called Vada pav and its very delecious. Basically, its a combinational of spice and sweet flavour and is made of potato and bread with some sauces. We can adjust the spice level based on the people request. It is also served with a curstured milk fruits shake which makes it more interesting it combines the spicy and then dessert kind of taste at the end.

I have already made my few international friends try it and they liked it a lot. Therefore, I am very excited to make this dish and present it to others as well. People who love spicy food, they must try it. My few friends will be helping me to prepare this dish.

Regards

John

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three points: you offer to prepare vada pav, describe its ingredients and flavours, and explain that friends enjoyed it and that people who like spicy food may want to try it. The offer is clear, and the detail about adjusting the spice level helps make it relevant to an international event. This meets the task well, though some points are less fully developed: the description of the “curstured milk fruits shake” is difficult to understand, and the reason the dish deserves a place at the event relies mainly on your friends’ reaction. Explain more clearly what makes it representative or distinctive, and state directly that you are volunteering to prepare and serve it. The response already shows a clear purpose, but fuller support would strengthen it further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a coherent overall arrangement: you introduce your request, describe the dish, then explain your enthusiasm and who will help. Paragraphing supports this sequence, and linking words such as “Basically,” “Therefore,” and “as well” help connect ideas. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, the sentence about the shake joins several ideas without clear punctuation, so the relationship between the drink, the spicy flavour, and dessert is hard to follow. “People who love spicy food, they must try it” also repeats the subject and interrupts the flow. Use clearer sentence boundaries and refer back to the dish consistently; this would make the progression smoother and cohesion less noticeable.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic vocabulary to communicate the basic idea, including “spice level,” “sauces,” “international food,” and “prepare.” The name of the dish and its ingredients also make the letter specific. However, the range and precision are limited, and several noticeable spelling or word-choice errors make parts difficult to interpret: “delecious,” “combinational,” and “curstured milk fruits shake.” Some phrases are also unnatural, such as “put a stall” and “my few international friends.” Choose more precise food vocabulary and check spelling, especially for the drink description. A wider set of accurate expressions for ingredients, preparation, and cultural significance would help you explain the dish more clearly and flexibly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, and the main message is generally understandable. For example, “We can adjust the spice level based on the people request” expresses a useful detail, while “I have already made my few international friends try it” attempts a more complex construction. However, control is inconsistent: “I am John a member…” needs punctuation or a linking structure, and “its” is used where the possessive “it’s” is intended. The sentence beginning “It is also served…” runs several clauses together, while “People who love spicy food, they must try it” has an unnecessary repeated subject. Practise accurate clause joining, articles, and sentence punctuation, while retaining your attempts at longer structures.

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