Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-15

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 hope everything is doing well with you. I am writing to let you know that the International Student's club is organising an event to celebrate popular food from the different parts of the world.

I would like to make a popular dish from my country, the Philippines a very simple but incredibly satisfying which is known as Chicken Adobo.

Chicken adobo is sauted in garlic, onion and pepper to make the chicken aromatic. After minutes of being sauted, water will be poured and vinegar as well and wait for 30 minutes to cook the chicken and ingredients well.

It should be included in the event because many people will like surely like it even young children. Perhaps the ingredients can be bought in a reasonably price especially for those people who cannot afford to buy expensive ones in the markets.

I look forward to hearing from you. Should you have any concerns, please feel free to contact me via phone [redacted phone].

Yours faithfully,

Jamie

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three points: you offer to prepare Chicken Adobo, describe how it is cooked, and give reasons for including it. The dish description is relevant, and the reference to affordable ingredients gives a practical reason for its suitability. However, the explanation of why guests would enjoy it is brief and somewhat general (“many people will like surely like it”), while the cooking description could be clearer about the dish’s distinctive flavour or cultural importance. Develop these points with a specific detail, such as its sweet-sour taste or popularity in Filipino homes, to make the response more fully supported. The letter’s purpose and tone are clear, though the repeated club introduction uses space that could support these ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter follows a sensible overall order: opening, offer, dish description, reasons, and closing. Separate paragraphs help the reader identify each main point, and phrases such as “I am writing to let you know” and “I look forward to hearing from you” make the purpose and ending clear. However, progression within some paragraphs is less smooth. The cooking steps are presented as a sequence, but “After minutes” does not specify a clear interval, and the reason paragraph moves from popularity to affordability without explaining the connection. There is also some repetition in “will like surely like it.” Use clearer sequencing and linking, and avoid repeating information from the prompt in the opening.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “aromatic,” “ingredients,” “reasonably,” and “expensive,” and the reader can understand the dish and your reasons for proposing it. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, which limits precision: “doing well with you,” “satisfying which is known as,” and “bought in a reasonably price” do not sound natural in this context. “Sauted” is also misspelled, and “popular food from the different parts” is less idiomatic than a concise expression such as “food from around the world.” Aim for accurate, natural combinations of words and check spelling, especially for key cooking terms. More precise vocabulary for taste and cultural significance would also strengthen the description.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the main message is generally understandable. Some grammatical errors, however, make parts of the letter awkward or unclear. In “the Philippines a very simple but incredibly satisfying which is known as Chicken Adobo,” the sentence lacks a clear grammatical connection between the country, the dish, and its description. “After minutes of being sauted” also needs a determiner or a stated time, while “water will be poured and vinegar as well and wait” shifts from passive to an incomplete instruction. The phrase “people will like surely like it” contains a duplicated verb. Use complete clauses, maintain consistent sentence patterns, and check articles and verb forms when describing the cooking process.

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