Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-16

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 Jashan ,

I hope you are doing well and that you are enjoying summer so far! It feels like it has been way too long since we last caught up. I am very excited you are coming soon to meet me , undoubtedly we would have fun together.

I'm writing you this today to inform you i can't come and pick you up from the station. I received a call from my Boss to attend very crucial meeting on behalf of my co-worker who became very sick . I would be back before 5 in the evening.

However, i have made sure that you would not feel lonely without me . I have placed your likely snacks next to the dining table, the food is prepared in fridge. Please feel free to have anything you want , feel like your own space. You can rest in guest room , every necessary item is putted next to you. You can also watch Netflix or even try play station , all the passwords would be available on notepad on coffee table.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses all three bullet points of the prompt, but there are significant omissions. While you mention the food and entertainment, you fail to explain the arrangements for the keys and how to enter the house, which was a primary requirement. Furthermore, you do not provide instructions on how to get from the train station to your house. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a family member, but the content is incomplete. To improve, ensure that every instruction in the prompt is explicitly addressed with sufficient detail to be useful to the reader.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organised into short paragraphs, which is appropriate for this task type. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat disjointed. The transition between the apology for not picking them up and the house arrangements is abrupt. While some cohesive devices like 'However' and 'also' are used, the logical flow between sentences could be improved by using more varied linking words. The referencing is generally clear, but the overall structure feels a bit mechanical. Improving the use of transition phrases would help the ideas connect more naturally.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for a personal letter, but it lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are some awkward collocations, such as 'likely snacks' (which is unclear) and 'putted' (which is a non-standard form of 'put'). You rely on fairly simple language throughout. To achieve a higher score, try to incorporate more natural, idiomatic expressions suitable for a friendly letter and ensure that word choices are precise and contextually accurate, avoiding errors like 'putted'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

There is a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but the accuracy is inconsistent. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'I'm writing you this today' (should be 'writing to you'), 'attend very crucial meeting' (missing article), and 'try play station' (should be 'try the PlayStation'). Punctuation is also problematic, with inconsistent spacing before commas and periods. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to lower the score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and article usage will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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