Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-20

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)

Subject : Give advice about the course.

Dear Rohan,

Hope you doing well, I an writing this email to provide you with some information regarding the course that you will applying and advice you about the subject. I would like to share the important information that may be helpful.

First of all, I was enrolled in Business Management. It is important course because i am going to help my father in growing their business in to upper level.

I addition, The North York university is the best for this course due to the teacher and the environment of the university is elite. As a result it helps a person to become a businessman and grow their business from basic to international level.

Furthermore, I would like to mention some tips which will helpful like apply in person and take the math as a optional will helpful in future.

If necessary you can also called my name reference and it may give you some discount on your fees.

Hope this information is useful for you and if have any problem in any subject feel free to ask.

Best wishes,

Sukhvir

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points: it describes the Business Management course, explains why the university is recommended, and provides application advice. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation of why the university is 'elite' is vague, and the advice on the application process is quite brief. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your points with more specific details or examples. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, and the purpose is clear throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of ideas. You use some basic cohesive devices like 'First of all', 'In addition', and 'Furthermore' to link your points. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and there are occasional issues with referencing, such as the unclear use of 'their' when referring to a singular father. Improving the variety of your linking words and ensuring that pronouns clearly refer to their antecedents would enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to convey your message, but it is somewhat repetitive and lacks precision. Phrases like 'important course' and 'best for this course' are quite basic. There are also some minor errors in word choice, such as 'take the math as a optional' instead of 'take mathematics as an elective'. To improve, try to incorporate more specific academic or professional terminology related to university courses and business studies, and pay closer attention to collocations to sound more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The letter contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement ('Hope you doing well'), article usage ('the math as a optional'), and tense consistency ('that you will applying'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are noticeable and occur throughout the text. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically verb forms and the correct use of articles, before attempting more complex structures.

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

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