Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-15

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 John,

First, I'm happy to listen that you are thinking to take the same course.

So, I was studying a chemical engineering in my university. This course is very intersting and informational.As I took my course just because I enjoy to work on different chemcials.

The good thing of my university is a wide big and have sports area for fun and sports gala. Second thing is university has highly quailified teacher which help you in studies. This university has a flexiable timetable which can suit you as your job is mostly work from home.

There is simple way for applying in university which is their website through which you will get in touch with supervisor and admistrative. They will ask for some important document and reason for choosing the course then will send you a offer letter.

I hope you will enjoy the university and studies with highly quailified staff.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three requested points: you identify chemical engineering as your course, give reasons for recommending the university, and explain that applications are made through its website. The advice about contacting a supervisor and submitting documents is relevant, and the friendly opening and closing suit a letter to a friend. However, some points are less fully explained than others. For example, “a wide big” and a sports area are mentioned without clarifying what makes the campus or facilities appealing, while the application process would be more useful with specific advice about checking entry requirements or deadlines. Develop these details and make the recommendation more personal by explaining how the course or teaching benefited you.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: you introduce the course, describe the university, explain how to apply, and finish with a friendly closing. Paragraph breaks help distinguish these topics, and signposts such as “First” and “Second thing” make the sequence easy to follow. At times, however, linking feels mechanical, particularly with “So” and “Second thing,” and the relationship between ideas is not always smooth. The sentence about the flexible timetable and your friend’s work-from-home job, for instance, could be connected more clearly to why this feature is useful. Use a wider range of natural transitions and ensure each paragraph develops one main point in a logical order.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main information, including relevant terms such as “chemical engineering,” “supervisor,” “administrative,” and “timetable.” The tone is generally appropriate for a friend. However, several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision: “intersting,” “chemcials,” “quailified,” and “flexiable” should be corrected, while “a wide big” is not a natural description. Some phrases are also vague or awkward, such as “informational” for a course and “sports area for fun and sports gala.” Choose more precise collocations, such as describing the course as “interesting and practical” or the campus as having “excellent sports facilities.” Proofreading spelling and word forms would make your message clearer and more polished.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You communicate using a mixture of short statements and some longer sentences, and the main meaning is generally understandable. There are, however, some errors in sentence structure, articles, verb forms, and agreement. For example, “I’m happy to listen that” needs a different verb pattern, and “I was studying a chemical engineering” has an unnecessary article and an awkward tense choice. In “university has highly qualified teacher which help you,” the article, plural form, and relative-clause agreement need attention. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after full stops. Practise accurate article use and subject–verb agreement, and revise sentence patterns such as “I studied chemical engineering” and “The teachers are highly qualified and help students.”

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