Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-15

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 5.0)

Dear John,

I hope you are doing well! I cannot believe that 10 years have been passed away when we left the college, and all of our friends did not have any patch up during this time period. Now I am thinking about to plan a birthday party of one of our colleauge; Emily.

From my perspective it would be a great delight for all of us to celebrate, her birthday because she was everyone's favourite girl. She is also planning of going to America so patch up is really important.

I also need your help to oragnize this function because all the decoration material must be purchased by you. I would arrange the meal and cake for this party.I was therefore wondering if you could help me in this regard.

I am very excited for this party, if you also need my help you can contact me at any time.

Warm Wishes,

Huda

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address the main purpose by proposing a celebration and asking John to help, but the response only partially fulfils the task because the event is changed from a ten-year college reunion to Emily’s birthday party. The reason that friends have not met and that Emily may move to America gives some context, but it does not clearly explain why a reunion-style celebration would be worthwhile. You do specify a practical task for John—buying decorations—and say you will arrange the meal and cake. To make the response more complete, keep the event focused on the college anniversary and develop the reasons for it, such as reconnecting, sharing memories, and celebrating what classmates have achieved.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter has a recognisable structure: an opening, a paragraph about the proposed celebration, a request for help, and a closing. This makes the general purpose understandable. However, the progression is weakened when the focus shifts from the ten-year anniversary to Emily’s birthday, and the links between ideas are sometimes unclear. For example, “She is also planning of going to America so patch up is really important” does not clearly connect the move with the proposed event. Some linking phrases, such as “From my perspective” and “I was therefore wondering,” help guide the reader, but the overall organisation would be clearer if each paragraph developed one task point and the event remained consistent throughout.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for a social event, including “celebrate,” “decoration material,” “meal,” and “cake,” and the reader can generally understand your intention. However, the range is limited and several inaccurate or unnatural expressions make parts of the letter difficult to interpret. “Patch up” does not mean meeting friends again; “reunion” or “get-together” would be suitable. There are also spelling errors such as “colleauge” and “oragnize,” and “birthday party of one of our colleague” is not a natural phrase. Aim for precise, familiar collocations and check spelling, especially in key details about the event and the help you need.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The letter includes simple sentences and attempts at longer structures, such as “I cannot believe that…” and “I was therefore wondering if you could help me…”. However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to affect clarity. For example, “10 years have been passed away when we left the college” has an incorrect verb construction and tense; “I am thinking about to plan” uses an incorrect pattern after “thinking about”; and “She is also planning of going” has an inaccurate verb pattern. There are also problems with articles and sentence punctuation, as in “celebrate, her birthday” and “party.I would.” Practise accurate verb patterns and past-to-present time expressions, then proofread sentence boundaries.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.