Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-20

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)

Hi shaina,

I hope your are doing great ! I am very excited to see you in my university , as you are going to take same course of chemistry in my school of university of Canada West . I recommend you to choose my university for further studies in sciene . Although you are intelligent in studies , my school is but for future to learn something new in better way .

Moreover , there is a many advantages of choose this school because firstly , it is near to our place . Secondly way the teach with expermiments are the best . The best way to enrol in school , go to the website of University and fill the form with all the details for admission , and they reach out you back by email or call . since , i started my school i never felt a guilt why i choose this instead of others , i always feel better by choosing this best school in my city .

best regards ,

karanpreer kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all three bullet points from the prompt: it gives details of the course (chemistry at the University of Canada West), explains why the university is recommended, and provides advice on how to apply through the website. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited and the tone is informal and slightly erratic in places, such as saying 'my school is but for future'. While the purpose of the letter is generally clear, the execution of the content aligns with a Band 5 or 6 profile. Because the response addresses all requirements of the task, it satisfies the criteria for Band 6, despite the under-developed explanations and casual expression.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter uses some basic cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'firstly', and 'Secondly', but their usage is occasionally awkward, such as 'Secondly way the teach with expermiments'. Paragraphing is attempted, though the layout is somewhat cramped and lacks clear spacing between the greeting, body, and sign-off. Referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly with pronouns like 'this' or 'it', which forces the reader to work harder to follow the intended connections. Overall arrangement is coherent enough to be understood, but the mechanical and occasionally faulty cohesive devices place this response firmly in the Band 5 category.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student displays a limited but minimally adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using words like 'intelligent', 'advantages', 'experiments', and 'admission'. However, there are numerous noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and word formation, such as 'sciene' instead of science, 'expermiments', 'enrol in school', and 'shaina' (lowercase capitalization errors). These errors cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the text from achieving a higher band. The vocabulary remains quite basic and repetitive, restricting the score to a Band 5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'Although you are intelligent in studies , my school is but for future...'. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, featuring frequent errors including missing articles ('take same course'), subject-verb agreement issues ('there is a many advantages'), incorrect prepositions ('in university'), and persistent punctuation errors with spaces before commas. These frequent errors cause strain for the reader and demonstrate poor control over complex structures, corresponding closely to the Band 5 descriptors.

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

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