Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-12

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You have enrolled in an evening course but you have found that you are too busy to continue and would like to take the course next term instead.

• explain the situation and why you cannot continue the course

• say what you would like to do about your studies

• ask for advice about what you can do about the situation

Student answer (Band 5.0)

Hi Sir,

I am writing to let to know that as per my hectic work schedule which does not allow me enough time for my studies. I work at ice cream shop which always in high demand in summer season specially during evening time. Due to that, I thought to push over my course for upcoming winter season. During winters I always end up with extra time because of low demand of ice cream winter times.

I would like presue my studies in next term so that I can pay more attention and results in my favour to achieve good grades.

I would really appereciate your suggestion to tackle this situation better.

Thanks for your consideration.

Yours faithfully

Harman

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers all three bullet points required in the prompt: you explain your busy work schedule at an ice cream shop, state your wish to postpone the course to the winter term, and ask for advice on how to handle the situation. However, the response falls significantly short of the 150-word minimum, containing only 119 words. Because the length requirement is not met, the task cannot be fully developed, leading to a penalty under this criterion. To improve, you must ensure you expand on your ideas and meet or exceed the word count threshold by providing more details about your situation and what specific advice you are seeking.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter attempts a logical progression, moving from the explanation of the problem to your proposed solution and finally asking for advice. However, the paragraphing is weak; the entire body of the letter is clumped together into one block, failing to use paragraph breaks effectively to separate different ideas. Cohesive devices are also basic and sometimes awkward, such as starting sentences with 'Due to that' or 'During winters'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in the sentence fragment 'as per my hectic work schedule which does not allow me'. To achieve a higher band, you need to structure your letter into clear paragraphs and use a wider variety of cohesive links naturally.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The lexical range is limited and adequate only for basic communication. You attempt some topic-related vocabulary like 'hectic work schedule' and 'high demand', but there are noticeable word choice errors and misspellings throughout the text. For instance, 'let to know' should be 'let you know', 'presue' should be 'pursue', and 'appereciate' is misspelled. Additionally, phrases like 'push over my course' are unnatural and lack appropriate collocation. To improve your lexical score, you should focus on accurate spelling, expand your vocabulary with more precise academic or semi-formal phrases, and review common collocations used in everyday correspondence.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

Your writing shows a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical control is weak. There are several noticeable errors that impede clarity, such as the sentence fragment starting with 'I am writing to let to know that as per my hectic work schedule which does not allow me', which lacks a main verb for the dependent clause. Other errors include 'which always in high demand' (missing verb 'is') and 'results in my favour' (faulty agreement/structure). Punctuation and sign-off conventions are also slightly confused, using 'Yours faithfully' instead of 'Yours sincerely' since you are addressing a specific person ('Hi Sir'). A better grasp of basic sentence structures and proofreading for missing verbs is necessary.

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

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