Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-10-30

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 Tony,

Hey! How are you? Hope you are doing great.Since,its a long time to hang out together, Its going to be fun to see each other.

First of all, I really appologise for not being at home on the day you are coming on.Because i have a important meeting to attend which cannot be reschedule.However, all of this,I will put a key in mail box for you. Apart from this, it is difficult to unlock door some time.So just pull it with a force towards you before unlocking the gate.

Furthermore, i had arranged a taxi pick up for you for the morning. I am going to send a text message with a name and contact details of driver showing up for you.Additionally, fair is already paid for your cab.

At last, after such along journey i am sure that you need a sleep. Hence, all the arrangements are a done for you in guest room. If you still need anything just ping me anytime. I had found a great place for dinner,its name is chucks. They cook a nice stakes in town. For sure you are going to like it.

waiting to see you soon.

Yours lovingly,

Nav

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You cover the main situation and give useful practical details: you explain that a key will be left in the mailbox, describe the taxi arrangement, and suggest dinner at Chuck’s. However, the directions from the station are not actually provided; arranging a taxi is helpful, but the task specifically asks how your relative can get to your house. The key instructions are also somewhat unclear, and the evening plan is only briefly developed. Add a clear route or address details, explain exactly how to retrieve and use the key, and give a little more information about your plans together. These omissions and under-developed points mean the task is only partially addressed, despite the relevant ideas and friendly purpose being clear.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter follows a generally sensible order: greeting and explanation, access arrangements, transport, then the evening. Connectors such as “First of all,” “Furthermore,” and “At last” help signal these stages, and the reader can follow the overall message. However, the linking can feel mechanical, and some transitions do not express the relationship accurately: “At last” is not a natural way to introduce the final topic, while “Apart from this” does not clearly connect the door difficulty to the key arrangement. Several ideas are crowded into long blocks, so separate paragraphs for access, travel, and evening plans would improve clarity. Check punctuation and spacing around sentence boundaries to make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of relevant everyday expressions for an informal letter, including “key in mail box,” “guest room,” “contact details,” and “ping me anytime.” These choices help communicate a warm, personal tone. However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, including “appologise,” “fair” for “fare,” “stakes” for “steaks,” and “a sleep,” which is not a natural expression here. Some phrases are also imprecise, such as “a taxi pick up” and “a great place for dinner.” Aim for accurate spelling and more natural collocations, for example “arranged for a taxi to pick you up” and “a popular restaurant.” This would make the vocabulary more precise and fluent without losing the friendly style.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, such as the explanation that you have a meeting “which cannot be reschedule” and the instruction about pulling the door before unlocking it. The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors occur in sentence structure, verb forms, articles, and punctuation. For example, “Since, its a long time to hang out together” is not correctly formed, “I have a important meeting” needs an article correction, and “cannot be reschedule” requires a passive form. There are also run-on or poorly punctuated sentences, particularly around “However, all of this” and “Additionally.” Practise accurate clause construction and review articles, verb forms, and sentence boundaries while retaining your attempts at complex sentences.

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

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