Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-10-19

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)

Hey Jack,

I am glad that finally, you will be here this week.

I just found out that your flight has been delayed. On the morning of your arrival I have an important job meeting to attend. So, I will be leaving a spare key in the mail box. Also, I have planned to make your breakfast ready in the morning and will be in the fridge with a red container; please help your self if you need anything else. Room is also on the second floor ; second door on your right, ready if you want a quick nap !

Also, there will be a taxi driver who will text you on the same morning and he will take you home safely. You don’t need to pay anything.

Lastly, I will be home around 3 in the afternoon.

We can go a fancy Italian cuisine for our dinner; also we would go to the same dessert place we went last time “The D spot”.

I am very excited to meet you!

Best regards

Anshul

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The letter is friendly and includes relevant information about the key, the route from the station, your return time, and an evening activity. However, the key arrangements are not fully clear: you say the spare key will be in the mailbox, but do not explain how Jack should find or access it. More importantly, the route instruction is replaced by a taxi arrangement; the task asks how to get from the station to your house, so give a clear direction or explain where the driver will meet him. The breakfast and room details are useful, but the evening plan could be developed with a specific suggestion and a question about his preference. These gaps leave parts of the task only minimally addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The information follows a generally sensible order: arrival arrangements, transport, your return, and plans for the evening. The opening and closing also suit an informal letter. Linking phrases such as “Also” and “Lastly” help the reader follow the sequence, although their use is somewhat mechanical, and the letter is presented as one block rather than in clear paragraphs. Some connections are unclear—for example, the taxi arrangement does not explain how Jack will identify the driver or where they will meet. Grouping the practical arrival details together, then placing your return and evening plans in a separate paragraph, would make the progression more effective and the relationships between details clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for a personal letter, including “spare key,” “important job meeting,” “second floor,” and “fancy Italian cuisine.” The tone is appropriately warm and informal. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, however, such as “go a fancy Italian cuisine” and “make your breakfast ready.” “Help your self” is also incorrectly written as two words, and “dessert place” is less natural than a more specific description of the venue. These choices do not prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, but more precise, natural phrasing would improve fluency. Continue building useful collocations for giving directions, arranging transport, and making social plans.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The letter includes a mix of simple sentences and some longer structures, such as “On the morning of your arrival I have an important job meeting to attend.” Most of the message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors are noticeable. For example, “Room is also on the second floor” needs a determiner (“The room”), and “I will be home around 3 in the afternoon” would be clearer as “at around 3 in the afternoon.” The sentence about breakfast combines ideas awkwardly: the food, rather than the breakfast, should be “in the fridge.” There are also punctuation and spacing slips, including spaces before semicolons and exclamation marks. More accurate sentence construction and punctuation would strengthen control.

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