Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-10-27

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 Sister,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to inform you that I know you are coming to stay with me in my apartment for few days, I am so excited and happy to stay together for some time. Unfortunately, my best friend is sick for last night and her parents are not home. Moreover, I went with her to see the doctor but they admit her for a day.

Now, I will arrive at home little bit late near about 11 o'clock. I know you will arrive early than me. you do not need to worry about anything, I already told my uncle departure timing of train and to pick up you from there to home and provide my house' key to you. There are some dry fruits and fresh fruits on shelf you can have those.

When I will reached at home we will make fresh home made food which is you favorite. Apart of that, we will play our childhood game together as well as talk with mother via video call.

Thank you so much for understanding and co-operation.

Yours Faithful,

ABC

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address the main situation and include arrangements for access, the journey, your return, and an evening activity. The key arrangement is clear: your uncle will meet your sister at the station and give her the house key. However, the route from the station is not explained; being picked up is an arrangement, but it does not tell her how to reach the apartment if plans change. Your reason for being late is also confusing: you say your friend was sick “for last night” and that you will arrive “near about 11 o’clock,” without clarifying whether this is in the morning or evening. The food and childhood game are relevant suggestions, but the plans would benefit from clearer, more complete details.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter follows a broadly sensible order: you explain the delay, describe the key arrangement, and then suggest what to do together. The opening and closing also make the purpose and friendly relationship clear. However, some connections between ideas are awkward or unclear. For example, “Moreover” does not clearly show how the doctor visit relates to your late arrival, and “Now” is not a natural transition to the arrival arrangements. The long opening sentence combines several ideas, making the explanation harder to follow. Use separate paragraphs for the reason you will be late, access and directions, and evening plans, with straightforward links such as “As a result” or “When you arrive.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough everyday vocabulary to communicate the main arrangements, including “pick up,” “house key,” “fresh fruits,” and “video call.” The friendly tone is appropriate for writing to a sister. However, several word choices and collocations are noticeably unnatural, which sometimes makes the message less clear. For instance, “admit her for a day” would be more naturally expressed as “admitted her to hospital for the day,” while “departure timing of train” is unclear. Phrases such as “stay together for some time” and “fresh home made food” also need more natural wording. Aim to learn common combinations and choose precise expressions for travel and timing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a sentence beginning “Unfortunately” and a clause introduced by “When.” However, complex structures are often inaccurate, and errors occur frequently enough to make parts of the message difficult to interpret. Examples include “for few days,” “my best friend is sick for last night,” “you do not need” after a sentence break, and “When I will reached at home.” These involve articles, tense, verb forms, and sentence boundaries. Try using simpler, controlled forms: “I’ll be home at about 11 p.m.” and “When I get home, we can make your favourite meal.” Check capitalisation and punctuation as well as verb forms.

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

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