Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-20

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)

Dear Antony,

I am writing this letter to you for my suggestion regarding some course that you study for the business management subject.

I would suggestion you a accounting course for this subject.Even though it is a tough course, it is great course for the overall study, and it has a good scope for job.

Furthermore,I want to suggest you Kwantlen Polytechnical university for course.Since I am student at this university, I can tell you number of the benefit for studying in this university.Specifically, it is a famous university with better teachers, and better study options available.

Additionaly, I want you let you know some common ways to apply for admission.As apply online is the easiest way, I would recommend you to send an email, or give the a call on the phone number.However, if you do not want to apply online, you can visit their offline at the Surrey's location.

Best wishes,

Hunter

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address the three requested points: you name accounting as the course, recommend Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and offer ways to apply. However, the advice is only partly developed, which keeps the response at this level. The course description says it is “tough” and has “a good scope for job,” but gives no detail about what students study or what makes the course useful. Your reasons for recommending the university—“famous,” with “better teachers” and “better study options”—are also general. The application advice is unclear because you mention applying online, emailing, calling, and visiting in person without explaining the actual steps or requirements. Add specific, helpful details and make the recommendation more clearly personal to your experience.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable structure: it opens with the purpose, moves through the course and university recommendation, then gives application advice before closing. Paragraphing helps the reader identify these topics, and connectors such as “Furthermore” and “However” show some awareness of progression. At times, though, the links feel mechanical or do not clearly express the relationship between ideas. For example, “Even though it is a tough course” is followed by a general claim about job prospects, without explaining how the difficulty relates to that benefit. The application paragraph also shifts between online and offline methods without a clear sequence. Use transitions more selectively and organise the application advice as clear steps.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main message, including “accounting course,” “admission,” “teachers,” and “study options.” There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “overall study” and “scope for job,” but these are not natural collocations and may make the intended meaning less clear. Other noticeable word-choice or spelling issues include “suggestion” where a verb is needed, “Additionaly,” and “offline” to describe applying in person. The vocabulary is therefore limited and errors sometimes affect ease of understanding. Build a bank of natural phrases for giving advice and describing courses, such as “I’d recommend,” “career prospects,” and “apply in person,” and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple sentences and longer structures, including “Even though it is a tough course…” and “Since I am student at this university…”. However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. For example, “I would suggestion you a accounting course” has an incorrect verb form and article, while “I want you let you know” is missing a grammatical structure after “want.” Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention: “I am student” needs an article, and several sentences run directly into the next one, as in “subject.Even” and “phone number.However.” Practise reliable patterns such as “I would recommend that you…” and proofread for articles, verb forms, and spaces after punctuation.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.