Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-06

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

It is ten years since you left college. You'd like to organise an event to celebrate this anniversary with all your friends and classmates from college.

Write a letter to one of your college friends. In your letter

• say what kind of celebration event you'd like to organise

• explain why you think it would be good to celebrate in this way

• describe what help you need to organise this event

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ....................................,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear friends and classmates,

I am writing a letter to my all friends and classmates to celebrate college annoversary. During celebration anniversary I organised dance performances and games and everyone can take part in these event. The different types of food items are also available.

I thinknthis would be a good idea to celebrate because friends and classmates together event. The most of friends are living out of boundaries and busy in their regular work so this would be good idea to relax their mind for one day from work.

I have need to organise some arrangements like good quality food, stage for dance performance and items for games. One thing is most important during the event that is place.

I would appreciated to all my friends as well as classmates as they attend the event and spend quality time with all together and revine the nostalegic memories of these days.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the main parts of the prompt by mentioning a celebration involving dance performances and games, explaining that it helps friends relax from busy work lives, and outlining food, stage, and venue arrangements needed. However, the ideas remain limited and under-developed, placing the response at this band level. For instance, the mention that 'friends and classmates together event' is unclear and lacks proper elaboration. While all bullet points from the prompt are touched upon, the lack of full development and depth across the points prevents the response from reaching a higher descriptor level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some organisation present in the letter, with separate paragraphs attempting to handle different aspects of the task, such as the event details, the reasons for celebrating, and the help needed. However, there is no clear overall progression, and the transitions between sentences can feel abrupt or mechanical. Phrases like 'One thing is most important during the event that is place' disrupt the logical flow. Additionally, referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the shift in addressing 'Dear friends and classmates' at the start of a personal letter to an individual friend, which weakens the overall cohesion of the piece.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'nostalegic', but noticeable errors in spelling, word choice, and word form impede communication and reduce accuracy. For example, 'annoversary' contains a spelling error, 'revine' is incorrect in form and usage, and phrases like 'living out of boundaries' show inappropriate collocation. These lexical slips and restricted range mean the vocabulary remains at a foundational level, requiring the reader to occasionally interpret the intended meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing displays a limited range of sentence structures, relying primarily on simple sentences alongside a few attempts at complex forms that are often faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including tense and pattern issues such as 'I am writing a letter to my all friends', 'everyone can take part in these event' (agreement error), and 'I would appreciated to all my friends' (verb form error). These frequent errors in grammar and prepositions can cause some difficulty for the reader and show a need for closer control over basic sentence patterns.

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

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