Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-26

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 Kusam,

I hope you are doing well and enjoying your life. I saw your massages regarding that you are going to apply in a same collage where i am studying. I am so happy for you and me as well because we are going to together after one year.

Now, i want to give some information regarding my courses that i took.

I did bechleor in hospitality management and it is very option for future. There are alot of scope in this feild. You can become a manager in hostel or also can do any another higher post.

Moreover, the atmospher of the college is so good. The professor are so kind. They are always willing to help you in any case. Their are alot of another benefits like they give prefrence to everyone. That why i recommend you this college .

I hope you will get admission in this collage very soon .

Regards,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the task: describing the course, recommending the university, and providing application advice. However, the advice on how to apply is missing entirely; you mention that you hope the friend gets admission, but you do not explain the actual process (e.g., checking the website, submitting transcripts, or deadlines). The ideas are generally relevant but remain somewhat underdeveloped. To improve, ensure you provide specific, actionable steps for each bullet point. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, maintaining a friendly and informal register throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your ideas. You use some basic cohesive devices like 'Moreover' and 'That why' (which should be 'That is why') to link sentences. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes hindered by mechanical errors and repetitive sentence structures. The use of referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the opening where the connection between your friend's message and your response could be smoother. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear, unified focus.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is sufficient to convey the basic message, but it is quite limited and contains several spelling errors (e.g., 'massages' instead of 'messages', 'collage' instead of 'college', 'bechleor' instead of 'bachelor', 'feild' instead of 'field'). These errors are frequent and occasionally distracting. You rely on simple, repetitive language to describe your experiences. To improve, try to incorporate more precise terminology related to university studies and professional development. Expanding your range of adjectives and adverbs would also help make your writing more descriptive and engaging for your friend.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You use a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('The professor are', 'Their are'), incorrect verb forms ('we are going to together'), and missing articles or prepositions. While these errors do not completely prevent communication, they are persistent and affect the overall fluency of the letter. To improve, pay closer attention to basic sentence construction, specifically ensuring that subjects and verbs agree and that you are using the correct tense for future plans.

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

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