Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-11

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 6.5)

Dear Milan,

I hope you're doing well. I am absolutely delighted to hear that you're planning to enrol in the same course I studied at York University.

I have studied hotel management course for the past three years. Since you're seeking my advice, I would like to give you few tips before you submit your application. The best part of this course is that it provides hands-on experience, which will eventually prepare you to secure stable employment in the future. This program will allow you to develop your communication skills. I strongly recommend this university because it is well-equipped with highly qualified teachers and a wide range of learning materials. On top of that, structured learning provides a competitive environment within classrooms which helps you pass the national level exams. If you are interested to apply to this university just submit your documents to their website. I am sure they will get back to you at their earliest convenience.

I can't wait to hear from you soon.

Take care,

Payal

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three points and maintain a friendly, appropriate tone for a letter to a friend. You identify the subject as hotel management and explain benefits such as hands-on experience and developing communication skills. Your reasons for recommending York University—qualified teachers and learning materials—are relevant, but they remain fairly general and could be supported with a specific example from your own experience. The application advice is also brief: “just submit your documents to their website” does not explain which documents to prepare or whether there are deadlines or other steps. This covers the task, but the details are unevenly developed. More specific, personalised advice and fuller course information would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter is easy to follow: it opens with a warm response to Milan, moves through course benefits and reasons for recommending the university, then gives application advice and closes appropriately. Linking phrases such as “Since you're seeking my advice,” “On top of that,” and “If you are interested” help signal the progression. The main limitation is that several different functions are packed into one long body paragraph, so the course description, recommendation, and application instructions are not clearly separated. A paragraph break for the application advice would make the organisation more deliberate. Some transitions also feel slightly formulaic, but the overall progression remains clear and the reader can follow the message without difficulty.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “hands-on experience,” “highly qualified teachers,” “learning materials,” and “competitive environment.” These phrases communicate the main ideas clearly, and the friendly expressions suit the audience. Some choices are less natural or precise: “stable employment” is a broad claim, while “pass the national level exams” is not clearly connected to the course or university. “Structured learning provides a competitive environment within classrooms” is also awkwardly phrased. Greater precision and more natural collocations would strengthen the message—for example, describe practical placements or career prospects if these reflect your experience. Overall, the vocabulary is sufficient, though attempts at more formal or less common phrasing are not always fully controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the relative clause in “hands-on experience, which will eventually prepare you” and the conditional opening “If you are interested…”. Most sentences are understandable, and errors do not prevent the reader from following your advice. Some grammatical inaccuracies remain. For example, “I have studied hotel management course” needs an article (“the hotel management course” or “a hotel management course”), and “give you few tips” needs “a few tips.” The conditional sentence also needs a comma after its opening clause: “If you are interested in applying to this university, just submit…” These are manageable errors; more consistent article use and careful punctuation would improve accuracy.

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