Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-14

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 Vidhi,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing this letter to let you know that I won't be at home until the evening today as I got an urgent duty call from my company .

I know it is frustrating not to find anyone at home especially after a long journey. Therefore, I left your favorite pastry to express my apologies. The keys are kept under the first flower pot near the entrance and make sure there are two locks on the door to get into the house.

After your arrival at the Vadodara train station, I would suggest you to book a cab instead of taking a local bus as it would be more convenient for you as you might have got tired from the long journey.

I will be at home around at 5:00 pm because I have to attend an important meeting today. Anyway, once I'll be at home in the evening, we will go to the fair like we used to go during our childhood. Also, we will go to our favorite restaurant to have some Italian food.

I am waiting to see you super soon.

Yours loving,

Urvesh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly explained the key arrangements, provided specific instructions on how to reach your house from the station, and detailed your evening plans. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a family member, and the purpose of the letter is clear throughout. The ideas are well-developed and relevant to the situation described. To reach a higher band, ensure that all instructions are perfectly clear; for instance, the instruction regarding the 'two locks' is slightly ambiguous, but this does not significantly detract from the overall task completion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The letter is logically organized, with each paragraph focusing on a specific aspect of the request. You have used appropriate paragraphing and transition signals such as 'Therefore', 'After your arrival', and 'Anyway' to guide the reader. The progression of ideas is smooth and easy to follow. The use of referencing is generally effective, though some minor improvements in the flow between sentences could make the text feel more natural. Overall, the structure is clear and supports the message effectively.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You have used a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'urgent duty call', 'convenient', and 'express my apologies' are well-chosen and appropriate for the context. There are no significant errors in word choice that impede communication. To improve, you could incorporate more sophisticated collocations or idiomatic expressions to demonstrate a wider range. For example, instead of 'I am waiting to see you', 'I am looking forward to seeing you' would be more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a good control of grammar with a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. Most of your sentences are error-free, and the meaning is always clear. There are a few minor slips, such as 'I will be at home around at 5:00 pm' (the 'at' is redundant) and 'once I'll be at home' (the future tense is unnecessary after 'once'). However, these errors are infrequent and do not interfere with the reader's understanding. Your punctuation is generally accurate throughout the letter.

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

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