Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-10-08

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 Kiran,

I hope you are doing well. I am very happy after hearing this news that you're coming to stay with me. I am writing this letter to inform you that I am not available at time of your arrival in the morning.

Firstly, I want to tell about that I handed over the keys to one of my sweet friends who will give you keys to enter into the house.

Moreover, I also want to inform that because I am not at home to receive you. So, I said my friend to pick you on time from the train station and than drop at my house. One more thing does not feel any stress because she is my trustworthy friend.

Lastly, I will come home till evening and than we make dinner and have fun together. After dinner we go outside at restaurant and enjoy tea and make memory together.

I am eagerly waiting for your arrival. We will hangout together.

Kind Regard,

Nosheen

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three required points: your friend will provide the keys, will meet Kiran at the station, and you will be home in the evening. The reassurance that your friend is trustworthy also suits the personal purpose of the letter. However, the arrangements are not fully clear: you say the friend will give the keys, then say she will pick Kiran up, without explaining whether she will hand over the keys at the station or at the house. The directions are delegated to the friend rather than giving Kiran any information about the journey. Your evening plan is relevant, but “make dinner” followed by going to a restaurant is unclear. Clarifying these details and developing the plans would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall sequence, moving from the greeting and arrival arrangements to the evening plans and closing. Linking expressions such as “Firstly,” “Moreover,” and “Lastly” help signal this progression, and the reader can follow the main message. However, the organisation sometimes feels mechanical, with several points introduced in a list-like way rather than connected naturally. The key and station arrangements are also split across sentences without making their relationship clear. Grouping the practical arrival information together, then giving the evening plan in a separate paragraph, would improve the flow. Use transitions that show the relationship between ideas, rather than relying mainly on numbered-style markers.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main arrangements and maintain a warm, personal tone, with phrases such as “trustworthy friend” and “eagerly waiting for your arrival.” There are also attempts at more expressive language, including “make memory together,” but some word choices and collocations are unnatural or imprecise. For example, “I am very happy after hearing this news” and “hangout together” do not sound natural in this context, while “Kind Regard” is an inaccurate closing phrase. These choices do not prevent the reader from understanding the letter, but they limit precision and naturalness. Practise common collocations for welcoming someone, arranging transport, and suggesting evening activities.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple sentences and longer structures, and the main message is generally understandable. However, some errors in verb forms, sentence construction, and punctuation remain. For example, “I said my friend to pick you” needs a different verb pattern, and “because I am not at home to receive you. So…” creates an incomplete sentence. In “I will come home till evening and than we make dinner,” the time expression and verb tense do not fit the intended meaning. The final plans also shift between future forms and present forms. Review verb patterns after “tell” and “ask,” use complete sentences, and keep future plans consistently expressed.

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

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