Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-10-12

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 7.0)

Hi James,

I am writing to you ahead of your trip to stay with me. I have been looking forward to your visit and planned in advance for you to pick up the house key since I will not be home until evening. I dropped off the key with my neighbor living in the apartment opposite of mine. I also providfed him with your information so he does not give the key to the wrong person.

Since the train will be arriving in the morning, you would not have any difficulties finding a taxi to drop you off at my house. Please be sure to use the yellow taxi which is parked next to the entrance of the train station because they do not make multiuple stops. when you get to the front of my estate, inform the taxi driver to stop at the first gate in the estate.

I will be heading home after I get off work to ensure we meet up with the dinner reservation which I made at Jay's diner for 7pm. They have a variety of dishes including sea food which is your favorite.

Best wishes,

Gideon Njoku

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three requested points: you explain that the key is with your neighbour, give directions from the station, and say you will meet James for dinner at 7 p.m. The arrangements are clear and relevant, and the personal opening and closing suit the relationship. The key handover is supported with the detail that you gave your neighbour James’s information. However, the route is not fully precise: “the first gate in the estate” may not tell him how to reach your home from there. Also, saying you will be home after work does not give a definite arrival time, and the evening plan is presented as a reservation rather than a suggestion. Add a clear landmark or final direction and make the timing and invitation more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5

The information is arranged in a clear sequence: the key arrangements come first, followed by travel instructions and then the evening plan. Separate paragraphs help the reader locate each part of the message, while phrases such as “Since the train will be arriving in the morning” and “when you get to the front of my estate” connect details logically. The letter also maintains a consistent, friendly tone. To make the progression even smoother, link the taxi instructions more explicitly to the route from the station to the house, and clarify how the first gate relates to the neighbour’s apartment. The transition into the dinner plan is understandable, though a more direct invitation would make the final paragraph feel more connected to the purpose of welcoming your relative.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for a personal letter, including practical expressions such as “pick up the house key,” “train station,” “entrance,” and “dinner reservation.” Some choices show an attempt to be precise, but a few are inaccurate or unnatural: “providfed” is misspelled, “multiuple” is also misspelled, and “drop you off at my house” is less suitable when the taxi is being directed to a gate. “Neighbor living in the apartment opposite of mine” is understandable but wordy. These issues do not prevent the reader from understanding the arrangements, but they limit the accuracy and naturalness of the vocabulary. Aim for concise, conventional phrases and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

The letter includes a useful mix of simple and complex structures, such as “I am writing to you ahead of your trip” and the clause beginning “since I will not be home until evening.” Most sentences communicate their meaning clearly, and the overall control of tense and sentence structure is good. A few grammatical and punctuation issues remain. In “when you get to the front of my estate,” the sentence should begin with a capital letter. “I will be heading home after I get off work to ensure we meet up with the dinner reservation” has an unclear relationship between the clauses; a clearer construction would be “I’ll come home after work, and then we can go to our 7 p.m. reservation.” Review punctuation and make sure each clause expresses the intended relationship.

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