Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-12

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 Ashu,

Hope you are doing well and hope wedding festivities of your sister is going well too. I am writing this letter to give you a suggestion for the university i am studying currently.

I took masters course for biotechnology. As you are already aware about the biochemistry and genetics. so this would be much more beneficial for your further study in biotechnology. The reason i chose this college is that i have heard good faculties and aluminis. I got a support during my submission in last semester.

I would recommend you to apply for this course during fall admissions. However the auttum term has already finished its admission process. so the next chance for you wiuld be in gall term. I will send you a link to make an application through website. You have to follow the link to log on to university portal and start an application.

Waiting for you to get offered in this upcoming year.

your sincerely,

Rinkal

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all three bullet points required by the task prompt. First, the writer gives details of the course taken, mentioning the master's course in biotechnology and its connection to biochemistry and genetics. Second, the reason for recommending the university is provided through the mention of good faculty members and alumni support during the last semester. Third, advice about how to apply is included, mentioning the fall admissions and providing instructions to use the university portal via a link. Although some ideas, such as the faculty support, are slightly underdeveloped and contain some typographical errors like 'aluminis', all parts of the prompt are clearly addressed with a consistent, friendly tone appropriate for a letter to a friend. The task is successfully completed overall, matching the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression of ideas from greeting to course details, recommendations, and application steps. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different points, such as the introduction, the course details and recommendation reasons, and the application instructions. Cohesive devices are used, although some referencing is a bit mechanical or faulty, such as 'so this would be much more beneficial' and 'However the auttum term has already finished its admission process. so the next chance'. Transitional words are present, but connectivity between sentences could be smoother. Overall, the organizational structure meets the criteria for a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting words like 'biotechnology', 'biochemistry', 'genetics', and 'admissions'. However, there are several lexical errors and inappropriate word choices throughout the text, such as 'wedding festivities... is going' instead of 'are going', 'good faculties' instead of 'good faculty', and 'aluminis' instead of 'alumni'. Additionally, spelling errors like 'auttum' and 'wiuld' detract from the accuracy of the lexical resource. While the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main points clearly, the frequency of errors places this response firmly at a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional and causal clauses ('As you are already aware about the biochemistry and genetics. so this would be much more beneficial'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors, including punctuation and capitalization issues like lowercase 'i', missing articles, and awkward phrasing ('I got a support during my submission'). The use of 'so' after a full stop or comma splice indicates issues with sentence boundary punctuation. While the message remains understandable despite these errors, the accumulation of grammatical inaccuracies prevents the score from reaching a higher band. A Band 5.0 reflects the limited control over complex structures and frequent errors.

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

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