Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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.

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Dear Cousion Ravi,

I hope you are well. I cannot contain my excitement while writing this on how happy I am that you are finally visiting. Although, I am writing this to inform you that I would not be able to pick you up from train station early in the morning as I have a prior commitment made a month ago which is a presentation for an overseas client and due to which I will not be able to spend the day with you. I will see you later in the evening. While, I cannot push my meeting I am letting you know that I have safely put the keys at our usual place near a turtle statue in the foyer of my unit.

You can take a city bus number 4A from train station that directly stops right opposite to my building. As for the evening I have made reservation at the restaurent you have been fancing to go for a while, it is going to be my treat!

Can't wait to spend quality time with you.

Your favourite Cousion

Susie.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion7.0
Lexical Resource6.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three requested points: you explain that the keys are near the turtle statue, give the bus route, and say you will meet Ravi in the evening and take him to a restaurant. The warm, personal tone is appropriate for a letter to a relative. The travel directions are useful but could be more complete—for example, explain how to find the bus stop or what to do after getting off opposite your building. The evening plan is clear, though adding an approximate time you will be home would make the arrangement more specific. These details show relevant coverage, while some parts are less fully developed than others.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter follows a clear progression: you greet Ravi, explain why you cannot meet him, give the key and travel arrangements, and finish with the evening plan and a friendly sign-off. This makes the message easy to follow. You also use linking expressions such as “Although,” “While,” and “As for the evening” to connect ideas. However, “Although” and “While” are not used smoothly in their sentences, and the long opening paragraph combines several points that could be separated for clearer emphasis. A paragraph for the practical arrangements and another for the evening plan would make the organisation more polished. Overall, the sequence is logical, with some room to make cohesion less awkward.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range for a personal letter, including “prior commitment,” “overseas client,” “directly stops,” “reservation,” and “quality time.” These choices communicate the arrangements and convey enthusiasm. Some word choices and spelling errors reduce precision, however: “Cousion” is misspelled, “restaurent” and “fancing” are inaccurate, and “made a reservation” is more natural than “made reservation.” “Usual place” is understandable but could be more precise by naming the exact hiding place. The vocabulary is adequate and includes some less common expressions, but more accurate spelling and natural collocations would make the message more fluent and flexible.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including the explanation beginning “Although, I am writing this to inform you” and the clause “which is a presentation for an overseas client.” The main message remains understandable, but some sentence structures and punctuation need better control. “Although” is incorrectly separated from the clause that follows, and “While, I cannot push my meeting” also has an unnecessary comma after the opening conjunction. The sentence beginning “I cannot contain my excitement” is awkwardly constructed with “while writing this on how happy I am.” There are also missing articles in phrases such as “from train station” and “at the restaurent.” Revising these patterns would improve accuracy while retaining your range of sentence forms.

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

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