Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-20

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 5.5)

Dear Luis,

This is Jabeer Shaik, a member of an International Students club. We are organising an event to celebrate popular food from around the world. We are delighetd to offer you the grand opportunity to prepare Indian traditonal biriyani.

Biriyani is the most popular meal preferred by most of the Indians. Especillay Hyderabadi biriyani is prepared using the wide variety of ingredients those are grown across the nation.

We have audience participating from different parts of the world.According to statistics provided by International Food Survey, Hyderabadi Chicken Biriyani is the only dish preferred by most of the foreign nationalities. It stands as the primary food in an event, spreading the versatality of Indian foods at an International stage.Therefore, we request you showcase all your skills and experience for cooking the Biriyani with utmost dedication and care.

We are looking forward to hear from you soon.

Yours faithfully.

Jabeer Shaik

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address the three requested points: you offer to prepare biryani, identify it as an Indian dish, and give a reason for including it, namely its popularity among international audiences. However, the description is brief: the reference to ingredients grown across India does not explain what the dish is made from or how it is prepared. The reason for inclusion also relies on a broad claim about survey results rather than a developed explanation. The letter contains 139 words, so it is 11 words below the required minimum; this limits the space available to develop the description and justification. Add specific details about the dish and explain more clearly what visitors would learn or enjoy.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a generally clear sequence: an opening offer, a short description, a justification, and a closing. Paragraph breaks help distinguish these stages, and linking expressions such as “According to” and “Therefore” show how the ideas relate. Some connections are less smooth, however. The opening repeats the event context before making the offer, and the shift from the survey claim to the request that Luis cook with dedication is abrupt. The reference in “those are grown” is also not immediately clear. To improve progression, keep the opening focused on your offer, connect the dish’s features directly to its appeal, and use clearer references between sentences.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-specific vocabulary, including “Hyderabadi,” “ingredients,” “foreign nationalities,” and “versatility,” which helps communicate the subject. There are also noticeable spelling and word-choice problems, such as “delighetd,” “traditonal,” “Especillay,” and “versatality.” Some expressions are unnatural or imprecise: “grand opportunity” sounds overly formal for offering to cook, while “the primary food in an event” does not clearly express why the dish belongs at the event. Aim for accurate spelling and natural collocations, and choose words that convey your meaning precisely. For example, describe biryani as a popular rice dish rather than calling it “the primary food.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple sentences and more developed structures, including “According to statistics …, Hyderabadi Chicken Biriyani is the only dish preferred…” and the sentence beginning “Therefore.” The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical and punctuation errors reduce accuracy. In “ingredients those are grown,” the relative clause should be formed with “that are grown” or “which are grown.” “We are looking forward to hear from you” needs the gerund “hearing.” There are also missing spaces after full stops in “world.According” and “stage.Therefore,” and the closing punctuation is awkward. Review relative clauses, verb patterns after fixed expressions, and sentence spacing to make the letter more controlled.

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

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