Letter asking a friend to look after your house
This is a model answer written to show what a Band 7 response looks like against the marking criteria. It is a worked example, not a graded submission. To see your own band, paste your writing into the free checker.
The prompt
You are going away for two weeks and would like a friend to look after your house while you are gone. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:
- explain where you are going and for how long
- describe what you would like your friend to do
- say how you will thank them
Band 7 model answer (151 words)
Dear Liam,
Great news: I have finally booked that trip to Portugal I kept going on about! I will be away for two weeks from 3 August, and I was hoping you could keep an eye on the house while I am gone.
There is not much to do, honestly. Could you water the plants every couple of days, feed Milo in the mornings and clear the post off the doormat? The spare key is with Mrs Field next door, and I will leave the cat food and a list of anything useful on the kitchen table.
Please treat the place as your own while you are there. Help yourself to whatever is in the fridge, and stay over whenever you like.
I will bring you back a decent bottle of port, and dinner is on me the week I get back. You are a lifesaver, as always.
Take care,
Jess
Why this reaches Band 7
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Task Achievement
All three bullets are there and developed: the destination and dates, a clear set of jobs with practical details ("The spare key is with Mrs Field next door"), and thanks that are specific rather than a bare "thank you".
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Coherence and Cohesion
The letter runs naturally from the news to the favour to the instructions to the thanks, with the friendly tone doing the linking work instead of formal connectives.
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Lexical Resource
Genuinely informal idiom used accurately: "kept going on about", "keep an eye on the house", "dinner is on me", "a lifesaver".
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Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Relaxed but controlled grammar, with polite request forms ("Could you water the plants...") and contractions that fit the register.
The one fix to reach Band 7
Band 6 informal letters often ask the favour but stay vague about the jobs, leaving the second bullet thin. The single change that reaches Band 7 is turning "look after the house" into a concrete little list: plants, cat, post, key, so the friend knows exactly what is being asked.
Now check your own answer.
Paste your own attempt at this prompt and Examinerly names the single criterion keeping you below your target band, and shows the sentence-level fix. We never inflate your band.
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