Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-27

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 am writing to request a spot to prepare a native dish endemic in Nigeria at the upcoming international students' club festival.

I would like to prepare Fufu, a rich Nigeria cuisine, along with other participants willing to showcase their countries' culinary skills.

The meal is made from fermented cassava which had been left for several days, it is rich in fibers and can be consumed together with any suitable soup.

I want this food to be included because it will be a nice way to introduce our cultural heritage to the world. Beyond that, we have a good number of Nigerian students at the campus, I will be fulfilling if they can see a dish from their country of origin to enjoy, it will be a good way to feel a sense of their home food in a foreign nation. Please let me know, if a spot can be reserved for me.

I look forward to your prompt response.

Yours sincerely,

Egbodo Victor

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You address all three points clearly: you offer to prepare fufu, explain that it is made from fermented cassava and eaten with soup, and give reasons for including it. The cultural value and the opportunity for Nigerian students to enjoy food from home provide relevant support, so the purpose of the letter is clear throughout. To strengthen the response further, develop the dish description and its appeal to a wider audience rather than relying mainly on its cultural significance. For example, you could describe its texture or explain how it is traditionally served. The request for a place is also clear, and the closing appropriately invites a reply.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter follows a clear progression: you make your offer, describe the dish, explain why it belongs at the event, and close by asking for confirmation. Paragraphing helps distinguish the description from the reasons, while phrases such as “Beyond that” signal an additional point. The ideas are generally easy to follow. Some connections within the longer paragraph are less smooth, however: the sentence beginning “Beyond that” moves from the number of Nigerian students to your personal fulfilment and then to their sense of home without clearly separating these related ideas. Use shorter sentences or clearer linking to make each reason distinct. The overall organisation is effective, though cohesion could be more consistently controlled.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range for the letter and show some flexibility with expressions such as “cultural heritage,” “culinary skills,” and “sense of their home food.” These choices help communicate the cultural importance of the dish. Some less common wording is not natural or precise, though: “a rich Nigeria cuisine” and “a native dish endemic in Nigeria” are awkward combinations, and “fibers” is less suitable than the usual food-related term. These choices do not prevent understanding, but they limit the naturalness and precision of the vocabulary. Aim for familiar, accurate collocations when describing national dishes and ingredients, and choose wording that sounds appropriate in a friendly letter to an organiser.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, and the main message remains understandable. Some grammatical errors are present, particularly in sentence boundaries and verb forms. In “The meal is made from fermented cassava which had been left for several days, it is rich in fibers,” two complete clauses are joined with a comma; separate them or use a suitable conjunction. “I will be fulfilling if they can see” also uses an unsuitable verb construction, and “Please let me know, if” has an unnecessary comma before the conditional clause. Review tense consistency and practise punctuating longer sentences. Greater control of these patterns would make the letter smoother while preserving its clear meaning.

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