Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-28

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’m new memmber of the club, l just joined the club a week ago as l was the freshman’s student here.

I heard that the club is preparing for an event to celebrate popular food from around the world,as l come from a tropical country, l had so many dishes to offer,However one of my recommendation goes to chicken satay with peanut sauce, as it is easy to make and no need much ingredients in it.Me and my other Indonesian friends would like to help to teach you how to make it also we will providing the ingredients we need.

You probably wondering why l wanna put this dishes to our event, firstly l would like to introduce my homeland good to my international friends and secondly satay is the most comforting food that everyone could enjoy,it has no much spices and we need just to grill it on the pan. I hope you can consider about this.

See you soon,

Pinki

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address all three points: you offer to make chicken satay, identify it as a dish with peanut sauce, and explain that it could introduce Indonesian food and appeal to attendees. The offer to involve your Indonesian friends and provide ingredients is also relevant. However, the description of the dish is brief, and the reasons for including it are not fully developed; for example, saying it is “comforting” and has “no much spices” gives little detail about its flavour or cultural significance. The opening also spends space explaining that you are a new member rather than moving directly to the offer. Develop the dish description and support your reasons with a specific detail about how it is prepared or enjoyed. (Ten words copied from the task prompt were not counted.)

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter follows a generally understandable order: you introduce yourself, make the offer, explain your reasons, and close with “See you soon.” This gives the reader a basic sense of progression. However, the main information is crowded into two long paragraphs, and several ideas run together without clear sentence boundaries, particularly in the offer and explanation sections. Connectors such as “firstly” and “secondly” help signal your reasons, but the sequence is somewhat mechanical, and “this” in “I hope you can consider about this” is not very specific. Use separate paragraphs for the offer and the reasons, and make each sentence express one clear idea to improve the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “popular food,” “peanut sauce,” “ingredients,” “comforting,” and “grill.” These choices make the subject clear, and “chicken satay” gives the letter a specific focus. However, the range is limited, and several word choices or collocations sound unnatural, such as “freshman’s student,” “one of my recommendation,” and “homeland good.” Spelling and word-form errors, including “memmber,” also reduce accuracy. Aim for natural phrases that describe the dish and its appeal more precisely, such as its flavour, preparation, or popularity. Proofreading for spelling and choosing standard collocations will make your message more fluent and easier to read.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to combine ideas using clauses, as in “as I come from a tropical country” and “as it is easy to make,” but the range of sentence structures is limited and these longer sentences are often not controlled accurately. Errors include missing or incorrect articles and verb forms in “I’m new member” and “we will providing,” as well as agreement and plural problems in “this dishes.” Several sentences are joined with commas where full stops or conjunctions are needed, making the structure difficult to follow. Practise accurate simple sentences first, then build longer ones with clear clause boundaries. Checking articles, subject–verb agreement, and verb forms would improve control.

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

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