Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am glad to hear from you that you are joining the same course as I did. I'm happy to give you directions about studying this subject, but I believe that I'm not the right person to give advises to someone.
I have taken Bachelor's in Agriculture from Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar university Agra since 2016. It's like a combination of agriculture and technology.Moreover, from first semester to fourth semester you have a chance to study twelve subjects related to Agriculture engineering and plant science.
This university has advancement in technology upon recent years.There are changes from what i did at the past.That is the same reason why I recommend this course.
You can apply from both online and offline. If you need any early decision from university within seven days, you can apply through online rather than offline.Beacause offline takes more than ten days.
Take your time and make a good decision.I wish you attain success in your upcoming studies.I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Best regards,
Sree
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
You include all three requested areas: you identify the Agriculture degree, give a reason for recommending the university, and explain online and offline application options. However, the advice is only partly developed. The course description mentions twelve subjects and two broad fields, but does not explain what studying the course is like or give useful examples. The recommendation is also unclear: “advancement in technology” and changes since you studied there do not show specifically why the university is a good choice. The opening says you are not the right person to give advice, which weakens your purpose, and the formal greeting is not well suited to a friend. Give a clear, positive recommendation and add specific, relevant details to support it.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The letter has a recognisable sequence: course details, reasons for recommending the university, application advice, and a closing. Paragraph breaks help separate these topics, and phrases such as “Moreover” and “If you need” signal connections. However, progression within the ideas is sometimes unclear. For example, “There are changes from what i did at the past” does not clearly explain how the changes support your recommendation, and “That is the same reason” has an uncertain reference. The opening also gives conflicting signals by saying you are happy to advise but not the right person to do so. Make each paragraph develop one clear point, and use linking phrases only when the relationship between ideas is explicit.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main subject, including “Bachelor’s in Agriculture,” “Agriculture engineering,” “plant science,” and “apply.” There are also attempts to use more specific expressions, such as “early decision” and “offline.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unclear, which makes parts of the letter difficult to interpret. “Give directions” is not natural for offering study advice, and “give advises” uses the wrong form. “Advancement in technology upon recent years” is also an unclear phrase. Spelling and capitalisation slips, including “Beacause” and “i,” further reduce accuracy. Build a reliable set of natural phrases for describing a course, recommending a university, and explaining application procedures.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You use mostly simple sentence patterns, with some attempts to connect ideas through clauses, as in “If you need any early decision … you can apply through online rather than offline.” This gives the letter some structural variety, but control is inconsistent. Examples include “I have taken Bachelor's … since 2016,” where the tense and construction are faulty, and “from first semester to fourth semester,” which is missing articles. In “There are changes from what i did at the past,” the sentence structure and tense do not clearly express the intended comparison. Punctuation and spacing are also inconsistent, particularly around sentence boundaries. Practise accurate present-perfect forms, articles with singular countable nouns, and clear comparative sentence patterns before adding more complex structures.
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