Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-11-12

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

A family member is coming to stay with you. He/she will be arriving by train in the morning, but you won’t be home until the evening.

• explain arrangements you have made for them to have keys and get into the house

• tell your relative how to get from the train station to your house

• say when you will be home and suggest what you could do together that evening

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Julian,

It's been nice to hear from you that you will arrived on next week in the morning but due to my last CSS exam which will be held on the same day of your arrival, I'm not available at home till evening.

Although I told my mother about your arrival so she will be at home to make arrangements for your arrival. Once you reached at the train station, my driver picked you up and drop at my place safely. I'll share the driver phone number with you as well in case of any delay or hurdle call the driver soon.

Lately I'll catch up at 7 pm in the evening, As this will be my last CSS exam so we will enjoy alot, watching overnight movies with snack's that satisfy our midnight cravings. We have a lot of gossips pending due to my busy schedules, stuck between exams and job.

I'm excited alot after hearing about your visit in my place. Hope a save journey in train.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address the main situation and include arrangements for getting into the house, directions from the station, your return time, and an evening activity. The driver collecting Julian and your mother being at home are relevant details, while “watching overnight movies” gives a specific suggestion for spending time together. However, the key arrangements are not fully clear: you say your mother will be home, but do not explain how Julian will get the house key or enter if she is unavailable. The route is also reduced to being picked up by a driver, rather than explaining how to reach the house. Develop these practical details and make the plans more explicit to address every part of the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter follows a generally sensible order: you explain why you will be absent, describe the arrival arrangements, and then discuss your return and evening plans. This makes the overall message easy to follow. Some links between ideas are less clear or mechanical, however. For example, “Although I told my mother about your arrival so she will be at home” combines a contrast linker with a result, and “Lately” does not clearly signal the time you will return. The final paragraph also moves quickly from the exam to movies and pending conversations. Use more accurate transitions and separate the practical arrival information from the evening plans to make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main arrangements and personal tone, including “arrival,” “delay,” “midnight cravings,” and “busy schedules.” There are also attempts at more expressive phrasing, such as “a lot of gossips pending,” though this is not a natural collocation. Several word choices or forms are inaccurate and sometimes make the message less clear: “hurdle” is awkward in this context, “save journey” does not express the intended wish, and “snack’s” uses an incorrect form. Aim for more natural phrases for travel arrangements and social plans, and check spelling and word forms. This would make your vocabulary more precise while retaining the friendly tone.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, for example the opening sentence with “due to” and the sentence beginning “Once you reached at the train station.” However, complex structures are often not controlled accurately, and errors occur in verb forms, tense consistency, articles, and sentence boundaries. “You will arrived” should use the base form after “will,” while “my driver picked you up and drop” shifts tense and form within one clause. “Once you reached” also needs a consistent future-time construction. Capitalisation and punctuation are inconsistent, particularly in “7 pm in the evening, As…”. Practise forming clear future arrangements and checking each sentence for consistent verb forms and punctuation.

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

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