Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-19

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 Aunt,

I'm writing to you to inform you that I will be late at home until the evening due to my urgent meetings.

I'm feeling glad that you're coming to stay with me for somedays, I won't be home until the evening because of my meetings. I've kept my room's keys to my neighbour Mrs Julie whose room is opposite to my flat and informed her that you will be coming for keys. I've made some foods for you because you feel hungry by a long journey.

As you're new for this places you're unaware about the location where I stay so please catch the taxi and told the street 23 , Frankfort for my location and you will be easily arrived and get the keys from Mrs Julie.

I'll be reached by around 6 and made a special arrangements fo dinner. we both enjoy a delicious tonight by watch your favorite serial. Hope to see you seen.

Yours faithfully,

Radhika

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response successfully covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. You explain the key arrangements by stating, 'I've kept my room's keys to my neighbour Mrs Julie.' You provide directions from the station with, 'please catch the taxi and told the street 23 , Frankfort.' Finally, you mention your arrival time ('I'll be reached by around 6') and suggest an evening activity ('we both enjoy a delicious tonight by watch your favorite serial'). The tone is appropriately informal, though the register occasionally slips. All parts of the task are addressed, earning a solid Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter has a clear overall progression, moving logically from arrival logistics to key pickup, directions, and evening plans. However, paragraphing is somewhat weak, as several distinct ideas are crammed into a single block paragraph in the middle. Cohesive devices are basic and sometimes repetitive or awkward, such as starting multiple sentences with 'I'm' or 'I've'. Referencing is generally clear, though transitional links between sentences could be smoother. This level of organisation and cohesion corresponds to Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases like 'urgent meetings' and 'special arrangements'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors that hinder precision, such as 'late at home' instead of 'late getting home', 'some foods', and 'new for this places'. Additionally, spelling and word forms show some inaccuracy, for example 'told' instead of 'tell' and 'seen' instead of 'soon'. These lexical limitations place the writing at a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'I'm writing to you to inform you that...' and relative clauses like 'whose room is opposite to my flat'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly involving verb tenses and passive/active voice, such as 'I'll be reached' instead of 'I'll arrive', 'made a special arrangements', and 'by watch your favorite serial'. Punctuation and article usage are also unsteady. Because these errors occur frequently and cause some difficulty for the reader, a Band 5.5 is awarded.

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

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