Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-15

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)

Hello dear,

i am sorry i was not at home early in the morning that is why i gave my house keys in my neighourhood people who live in next of door. His name is Gurdeep. When you reached at home then you will give all details to him you are my relatives and get keys from him. When you take a bus to reach for my home, then you take 319 bus which from second bay from the station. After taking bus you approximately reach at 30 mintues. In the evening, i will reach at home as soon as possible after that we will enjoy together and take dinner together. I felt appology i was not home when you come at my home due to my urgent work. Next time i will stay at home when you come at my home. I am looking forward as soon as.

Yours lovely,

Gagan

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all three bullet points required in the prompt. The writer successfully explains the arrangements for getting the keys by mentioning the neighbour Gurdeep living next door. Directions from the train station are also provided, instructing the reader to take bus 319 from the second bay. Additionally, the writer states when they will be home in the evening and suggests having dinner and enjoying time together. While the tone is appropriately informal and friendly, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and basic, matching the criteria for Band 6. All parts of the task are clearly addressed, but the detail provided is relatively brief.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter lacks proper paragraphing, presented as a single dense block of text, which impacts the visual organization. Cohesive devices are basic and sometimes repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'when' and 'then' to link clauses (e.g., 'When you reached at home then you will give...'). The logical progression of information is acceptable as it follows the sequence of arrival, travel, and evening plans, but referencing and cohesion are mechanical and occasionally faulty. Overall, the structural formatting and cohesive links require better control to achieve a higher band score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for a basic social message, but the range is quite limited. There are several unnatural word choices and awkward collocations, such as 'neighbourhood people who live in next of door', 'take a bus to reach for my home', and 'I felt appology'. The student also uses incorrect phrasing for apologies and expressions. While the meaning is generally communicated despite these errors, the lexical limitations and frequent inaccuracies restrict the score to Band 5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar is weak. There are numerous grammatical errors throughout the text, including tense and preposition mistakes (e.g., 'i am sorry i was not at home', 'When you reached at home', 'you approximately reach at 30 mintues'). Subject-verb agreement and word order issues are also present (e.g., 'I felt appology i was not home when you come'). These frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader and demonstrate limited control over complex sentence structures.

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

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