Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-10-28

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 6.5)

Dear Amna,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to inform you that you are arriving by train in the morning; however, I won’t be home until the evening, and I am very excited to see you. I have made all the arrangements for you, so I know that after a long journey, you will feel tired and hungry. I cooked your favorite food; feel free to heat it in the microwave. Firstly, when you get out of the train station, you have to take the right-hand side; there is a bus stop. It will take you directly outside the building. It would be preferable to take a taxi, but that takes time because of the traffic on the road. When you arrived the home at second floor room no.203 you can get the key from my neighbour and just showed her your ID card. I will be back at 6 p.m., and if you feel good, we can have dinner outside and walk around. I will also take you to some shopping malls.

I look forward to your response.

Best wishes,

Sumbal

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three required points and maintains a clear, friendly purpose. You explain that your neighbour will provide the key and that Amna should show identification, give directions from the station, and state that you will return at 6 p.m. The suggestions to have dinner, walk around, and visit shopping malls also respond to the evening part of the task. These details make the arrangements practical, although the route is not fully precise: “take the right-hand side” and “It will take you directly outside the building” leave the bus route and final approach unclear. Adding a specific bus number, stop, or landmark would make the directions more complete and the ideas consistently well supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The information follows a generally sensible order: you introduce the visit, explain food and travel arrangements, describe key collection, and finish with your return time and plans. This makes the letter easy to follow overall. However, several points are crowded into one long paragraph, and transitions such as “Firstly” do not clearly organise all the later arrangements. The sequence around the directions and key collection is also abrupt, while “It will take you directly outside the building” has an unclear reference. Use separate paragraphs for arrival arrangements and evening plans, and connect each instruction with clear sequencing language. This would make the progression smoother and reduce the occasional strain on cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for a personal letter, including “arrangements,” “preferable,” “traffic,” and “look forward to your response.” The tone is warm and appropriate, and the reader can understand the practical information. Some choices are imprecise or do not collocate naturally, such as “take the right-hand side,” “arrived the home,” and “feel good.” “Shopping malls” is understandable but could be more specific to the proposed outing. Aim for more natural travel and arrival expressions, and choose wording that clearly describes the action or location. These refinements would improve precision while preserving the friendly style.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The letter includes a mix of simple and more complex forms, for example the opening sentence with “however” and the conditional suggestion “if you feel good, we can have dinner outside.” Most meaning remains clear, but some grammatical errors occur. In “When you arrived the home,” the tense and sentence pattern are incorrect; use “When you arrive at the house.” Similarly, “you can get the key … and just showed her” shifts from the base form to the past tense; use “show her.” The phrase “at second floor room no.203” also needs clearer article and preposition choices. Check verb forms after “can” and “when,” and proofread sentence boundaries and punctuation.

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

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