Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-11-10

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

A friend of yours is thinking about applying for the same course that you did at university. He/She has asked for your advice about studying this subject. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter

• give details of the course you took at the university
• explain why you recommend the university
• give some advice about how to apply

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Maam and Sir

Hi how are you? I hope you are doing well I am writing to you regarding to applaying of same course.

First of all thank you fo your thinking about this course I studied of Bachelor Administration at the university of surigao it was there years course and it covered a really goog mix of subjects including marketing finance management and business law and it was my there months final years its help me to apply a new job oppurtunity.

I recomend you to my university because there a lot of teacher is very supported and the facilities is new and the career center is excelent and the modern library the student here is fantastic theres a lot of my closest friend here.

In terms of applaying I recommend you to start early and inquare and check the university website for the exact entry and requerments and deadlines explain clearly why you want to study business if you need any help with that just let me know.

I really hope you decide to go for it.

Best wishes

Nino

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three requested points: you describe the business course and its subjects, give reasons for recommending the university, and offer application advice. The course details—“marketing, finance, management and business law”—are relevant, and your suggestions to start early and check entry requirements and deadlines are useful. The recommendation is also clear, with references to supportive teachers, facilities and the career centre. However, some details are unclear or only briefly developed, particularly the sentence about the course helping you find a job. Explain more precisely what benefit it gave you, and make the application steps clearer, such as which documents to prepare or whom to contact. The letter fulfils its purpose, but fuller explanation would make the advice more convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable structure, moving from an opening to course details, reasons for recommending the university, application advice and a closing. Paragraphing helps the reader identify these main sections, and phrases such as “First of all” and “In terms of applying” signal transitions. At times, however, the progression within paragraphs is less clear: the course description shifts abruptly to your job opportunity, while the recommendation paragraph strings together several reasons without showing how they relate. Some references, such as “it” in the course paragraph and “there” in the university paragraph, are not immediately clear. Use shorter, more clearly linked sentences and explicit references to improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “marketing,” “finance,” “facilities,” “career centre,” “entry requirements” and “deadlines.” These choices help communicate the main information. However, spelling errors and inaccurate word forms are noticeable, including “applaying,” “inquare,” “requerments,” “oppurtunity” and “excelent,” and some phrases are not natural in this context, such as “a really good mix” and “the student here is fantastic.” These issues sometimes make the reader pause to interpret your meaning. Check spelling carefully and learn common collocations for university applications and course descriptions. More precise wording would make the letter sound clearer and more appropriate for advice to a friend.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, for example, the sentence listing the subjects covered by your course and the advice sentence beginning “I recommend you to start early.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. Examples include “I studied of Bachelor Administration,” “it was there years course,” and “there a lot of teacher is very supported,” where articles, verb forms and agreement are not controlled. Several ideas are joined into long sentences without clear punctuation, especially in the application advice. Practise accurate sentence patterns such as “I studied for a bachelor’s degree in business administration” and “the teachers are very supportive.” Separating related ideas into complete sentences will also improve control.

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