Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-18

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

Student answer (Band 6.0)

Dear Mr.Smith,

I'm writing this letter to apologize for not attending an annual comapy meeting last week.

First and foremost, I had a family emergency at home because my mother fell off the stairs, and injured her back. At that time, nobody was at home to take her to the hospital. So, I had to stay with her because I'm the only child of my parents, and she relied on me. I know the importance of the event that I missed was not just for the company's growth but it was also very crucial for individuals for better business opportunities.

But I've already rescheduled a meeting with Mr. Brown, and he has also agreed to discuss the bullet points of the event with me. I'd cover all the topics of the meeting to speed up with the other employees.

Thank you for your understanding.

Yours sincerely,

Gurpreet Saini

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response clearly sets out the purpose of the letter, which is to apologize for missing the annual company meeting, and provides a clear explanation involving a family emergency and medical situation regarding the mother falling off the stairs. The writer also mentions making alternative arrangements with Mr. Brown to cover the missed details. The tone is appropriate for a formal business correspondence to a manager or director ('Dear Mr.Smith'). However, it is important to note that the length requirement of 150 words was not met, as the response contains 148 words. This minor shortfall slightly impacts the overall task fulfillment, leading to a penalty under Task Achievement where ideas might have been just slightly more expanded to comfortably clear the word count threshold. Overall, the content covers the required elements of an apology letter well, but the word count restriction must be noted.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter exhibits a clear overall logical organization, moving from the salutation and main purpose directly into the reason for absence, followed by the proposed solution and a polite sign-off. Cohesive devices such as 'First and foremost', 'So', and 'But' are used to connect ideas, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical or conversational, as seen with 'But I've already rescheduled'. Paragraphing is handled reasonably well, dividing the apology, the detailed explanation, the future action plan, and the closing into distinct blocks. Referencing is generally clear, and the reader can easily follow the sequence of events and actions taken by the writer. However, paragraph structures could be slightly more refined to ensure seamless flow, placing this text firmly at a solid level of coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a workplace communication task, successfully conveying meaning with phrases like 'family emergency', 'relied on me', and 'rescheduled a meeting'. There are some minor lexical inaccuracies, such as the spelling typo 'comapy' instead of 'company' and the slightly awkward phrasing 'fall off the stairs' (typically 'fell down the stairs'). Less common lexical items are attempted, for instance, 'crucial for individuals for better business opportunities', though the phrasing is a bit repetitive and clumsy. The vocabulary is sufficient for the task and does not impede communication, but it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'I'm writing this letter to apologize for not attending...' and 'So, I had to stay with her because I'm the only child of my parents, and she relied on me.' There are several minor grammatical and punctuation errors, including a missing space after the comma in the salutation ('Dear Mr.Smith') and the use of 'fall off the stairs' rather than 'down'. Additionally, the sentence 'I'd cover all the topics of the meeting to speed up with the other employees' contains an awkward collocation ('speed up with'). Despite these errors, meaning is never obscured, and communication flows smoothly. A greater variety of error-free complex structures would be needed for a higher score.

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