Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-12
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 6.5)
Dear Sarah,
I hope you are doing great. I am super excited for our reunion after a year. I know, I promised you to pick you up from the station. But unfortunately, an unforeseen meeting has come up on the same day. Therefore, I will not be able to meet you at the station.
However, I will make some arrangements for you to get to the house. Either, I can book a taxi from the station to the house or my friend can pick you and drop you off at the house. Tell me which would be comfortable for you. So that I can share further details with you to stay into touch with either of them.
My meeting will be over at 6pm. Meanwhile, Take keys from underneath the doormat and get freshened. Some Food will be in the kitchen. I have planned to watch a movie and have a dinner at a restaurant, once I get to house. I promised you will enjoy so much.
I hope you understand and not mad at me. I look forward to catching up soon.
Best wishes,
Raman
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0
You have addressed all three bullet points of the task effectively. You explained the key arrangements, provided options for transport from the station, and clearly stated your arrival time and evening plans. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a family member. The ideas are well-developed and relevant to the prompt. To reach a higher band, ensure that all instructions are followed with complete clarity; for example, you mentioned leaving keys under the doormat, which is a clear solution, and your suggestions for the evening are well-integrated into the narrative of the letter.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The letter is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the prompt, which helps the reader follow your message easily. You use some cohesive devices like 'However', 'Therefore', and 'Meanwhile' to link your sentences. To improve, try to vary your transitions further, as some of the sentence structures feel slightly repetitive. Additionally, ensure that referencing is precise; for instance, in the second paragraph, 'stay into touch with either of them' is slightly awkward and could be better linked to the previous sentence regarding the taxi or your friend.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'unforeseen meeting' and 'reunion' are good choices. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'get freshened' (should be 'freshen up') and 'stay into touch' (should be 'keep in touch'). You also have some minor grammatical slips that affect the natural flow of your vocabulary. Expanding your range of idiomatic expressions or more precise collocations would help you achieve a higher score in this criterion.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'I promised you to pick you up' (should be 'I promised to pick you up'), 'not mad at me' (missing auxiliary verb 'are you'), and 'get to house' (missing article 'the'). These errors are frequent but do not impede communication. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles. Increasing the variety of complex structures while maintaining accuracy will help you move toward a higher band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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