Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · 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 7.5)

Dear Jashan,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am really looking forward to having you to stay with me. Since you will be arriving by train in the morning while I will be at work, I have made a few arrangements so that you can get into the house easily.

I will leave a spare key for you with my neighbour, Mr. Yusuf, who lives in the next door. You can collect it from them by showing your identity. After entering the house, please make yourself comfortable and use the guest room upstairs. I will also leave some food and drinks in the refrigerator for you.

To get to my house from the train station, take a taxi from the main entrance of the station. It should take around 15 minutes, depending on the traffic.

I expect to be home at around 7 p.m. In the mean time please have a rest and relax. Around 9pm we will go to a restaurant to have a dinner.

I am excited to see you and hope you have a safe journey.

best wishes,

Vishal

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The response fully addresses all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly explained the key arrangement with your neighbour, provided logical directions from the station, and specified your arrival time along with a suggestion for the evening. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a family member, maintaining a friendly and helpful register throughout. All parts of the task are well-developed, and the information provided is relevant and easy to follow. You have successfully met the requirements of the task by providing all necessary details in a clear and organised manner.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0

The letter is logically organised, with each paragraph focusing on a specific requirement of the task. The progression of ideas is smooth, moving from the arrival arrangements to the directions and finally the evening plans. You have used cohesive devices effectively, such as 'Since you will be arriving', 'After entering the house', and 'In the mean time', which help to link your ideas together. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different topics, making the letter easy to read and follow. The overall structure is coherent and well-managed.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You have used a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'make yourself comfortable', 'identity', and 'safe journey' are natural and appropriate for the context. There are a few minor errors, such as 'lives in the next door' (should be 'lives next door') and 'have a dinner' (should be 'have dinner'). However, these do not impede communication. To reach a higher band, you could incorporate more varied or precise collocations, but the current range is adequate and demonstrates a good command of everyday English.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

The letter demonstrates a good control of grammar with a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. Most sentences are error-free, and the meaning is always clear. There are some minor punctuation and grammatical slips, such as 'In the mean time' (should be 'In the meantime') and the unnecessary 'a' before 'dinner'. These are non-systematic errors that do not affect the clarity of your message. You have used a variety of structures, including conditional and future forms, which shows a good level of grammatical flexibility.

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

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