Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-16

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 Anu,

How are you? I hope you are as fit as a fiddle. I am writing this letter to inform you about I am planning to organise an event to buy a new home in Vaughan in Canada, so I would like to invite my all friends and classmates from our college time.

This is not only a celebration event of my new home but also I am going to marry next month with Raj, therefore I would like to introduce my future husband with my all friends. He is also excited to meet all of you because I already told so many thinks about you.

Morover, I need your help in order to touch again our friends. As you know, it has been ten years we left the college so few of friends I do not have contact numbers If you can please share with me as soon as possible. Secondly, I also need your assistance to decoration and choose party catering, I know you have really good in decoration, please come on time before the event. The celebration day on 25 Oct, 2026 and I am really exicted to meet everyone.

Take care, and see you soon.

Best wishes,

Sandy

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You make a clear attempt to invite Anu and explain that you want to celebrate your new home and introduce your future husband. However, the response only partially fulfils the anniversary task: the event is presented mainly as a housewarming and pre-wedding gathering, and you do not clearly say that it is to mark ten years since leaving college. Your reasons for celebrating are relevant but brief, while the help requested—finding classmates’ contact details, decorating, and choosing catering—is more specific. To strengthen the response, make the college anniversary the central purpose, explain why a reunion would be meaningful, and connect each request for help directly to organising that event.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter has a recognisable structure, with an opening, paragraphs about the event and the help needed, and an appropriate closing. The ideas are generally understandable, and sequencing words such as “Moreover” and “Secondly” help signal a change of point. However, the progression is not always clear: the opening introduces a new home, the next paragraph shifts to a wedding, and the college anniversary is not established as the main focus. Some links are awkward or unclear, particularly “As you know, it has been ten years we left the college so few of friends…” Consider using one paragraph to state the reunion plan and its purpose, then a separate paragraph for the practical requests, with clearer links between each idea.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of familiar expressions suited to a friendly letter, including “fit as a fiddle,” “future husband,” and “catering.” These choices help convey a warm, personal tone. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unclear, such as “organise an event to buy a new home,” “touch again our friends,” and “so many thinks.” There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “Morover” and “exicted,” which reduce the accuracy of the message. Aim for precise, natural phrases for the event and requests—for example, “celebrate buying my new home,” “get back in touch with our friends,” and “things I’ve told him about you.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, and the reader can usually understand the main message. However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some parts difficult to follow. Examples include “I am writing this letter to inform you about I am planning,” “I am going to marry next month,” and “it has been ten years we left the college.” There are also problems with articles, possessives, and sentence boundaries, as in “invite my all friends” and the long sentence beginning “If you can please share with me.” Practise accurate patterns such as “inform you that I am planning,” “I am getting married next month,” and “it has been ten years since we left college,” and separate requests into complete sentences.

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