Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-10-17
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)
Hi, Riya
It good to know that finally you have decided to visit my place. I am very excited to see you after long time. But unfortunately, i will be not home at the particular time. However, i have booked a cap for you so do not worry. When you arrived at the station, you will see a yellow cab number 23466 he is also have your name on the board as well.
while travelling from station to home you may encounter some beautiful places on the way home. Keys will be under the doormat and I stored some food for you as well in fridge. You can stay in my room.Since we both know how much you loved that particular room. I moved to other ones. I will be there at 6 pm than we will discuss where should be go first or you can look for few places instead. See you in the evening and take some rest.
Your friend,
Babita
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
You address all three requested points: you explain that a cab will meet Riya and that the keys and food are available at home, give a basic account of the journey, and say you will return at 6 pm with a suggestion to decide what to do together. The friendly tone suits a letter to a relative. However, some details are less fully developed or unclear. For example, “you may encounter some beautiful places” does not give practical directions from the station, and “we will discuss where should be go first” leaves the evening plan vague. Clarify how the cab will be identified and provide a specific activity or route so the arrangements are more useful and complete.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The message follows a broadly sensible order: greeting and arrival arrangements, information about the house, then your return and the evening. This makes the main purpose understandable. However, the ideas are crowded into one block, and some links between them feel abrupt—for instance, the move from the cab journey to the keys and food, then to the bedroom. Use short paragraphs for travel, access to the house, and evening plans. A few transitions, such as “Once you arrive” and “As for the evening,” would make the progression clearer. Check that pronouns and references are easy to follow, particularly “he” for the cab driver and “that particular room.”
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use enough everyday vocabulary to communicate the arrangements, including “station,” “doormat,” “fridge,” and “take some rest,” and the informal register is appropriate for a friend. There are also some imprecise or unnatural combinations that limit clarity and fluency: “booked a cap” does not clearly convey the transport arrangement, while “beautiful places on the way home” is vague in this context. “At the particular time” is also an awkward way to refer to your arrival time. Choose more precise travel and planning expressions, and use natural collocations. Greater variety in describing the route and evening activity would help you express the details more flexibly.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You attempt both simple and more developed sentence forms, including “Since we both know how much you loved that particular room,” and the main message remains understandable. Some errors in verb forms, sentence construction, agreement, and punctuation are present. For example, “It good to know” needs a verb, “I will be not home” has an awkward negative construction, and “When you arrived” does not match the future context. The sentence “he is also have your name on the board” combines incompatible verb forms. Review future-time clauses and auxiliary verbs, and punctuate sentence boundaries carefully; for example, begin “While travelling…” as a new sentence and avoid joining independent clauses with only a comma.
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