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. Alternatively, 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 more convenient for you. So that I can share further details with you to stay into touch 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 have a wonderful time.

I hope you understand and not mad at me. I look forward to catching up soon.

Best wishes,

Raman

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly explained the key arrangements, provided instructions for the train station, and suggested evening activities. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a family member. However, the development of ideas is slightly limited; for instance, the instruction regarding the keys is a bit vague, and the suggestion for the evening could be more detailed to fully satisfy the 'develop' aspect of the task. Overall, the response is functional and meets the requirements of the task effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. You use paragraphing effectively to separate different topics. Cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Therefore', and 'Meanwhile' are used to link ideas, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The progression of ideas is generally smooth, and the reader can easily follow your instructions. To reach a higher band, try to vary your linking words further and ensure that referencing (e.g., 'them' in 'stay into touch of them') is more precise, as the current usage is slightly unclear.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task. Phrases like 'unforeseen meeting' and 'reunion' are used correctly. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in collocation and word choice, such as 'stay into touch of them' (should be 'stay in touch with them') and 'get freshened' (more naturally 'freshen up'). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. Expanding your use of more natural idiomatic expressions or collocations would improve this score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'I promised you to pick you up' (should be 'I promised to pick you up') and 'I hope you understand and not mad at me' (missing the auxiliary verb 'are'). Additionally, 'once I get to house' is missing an article. Despite these errors, they do not impede communication, and the meaning remains clear throughout. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles.

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

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