Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-26

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 Sarah.

Thank you for reaching out to me.

The course that i studied at the university was bachelor of commerce, finance and accounting option.

This course takes a period of four years. The subjects taught are finance related with few general subjects that are compulsory for all the students.

I chose this course because I'm business minded, and I love to work with numbers. My future plan is to work in a finance related industry such as a bank or investment company, or to join the finance department in a private organisation.

I chose to study the course at Strathmore university. This is because Strathmore is a private university and is accredited as one of the top universities in the country.

It is strict with attendance, discipline and course study and has positive reviews from the alumni.

The teachers are well versed with the subjects that they teach and are keen to use interactive teaching methods.

If you would like to apply to this same university i advise that you start early as there are many students that apply and there is a waiting list. Applications are submitted at the university administration and you can find the opening hours in their website.

All the best with the decision and i hope to hear from you soon.

Best regards

Josephine.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three requirements: you describe the four-year commerce course and its finance and accounting focus, explain your choice of Strathmore through its reputation, discipline and teaching, and give practical application advice about applying early and checking the website. Your friendly purpose is clear throughout, and the reasons are relevant and supported with details such as the interactive teaching methods and positive alumni reviews. Some points remain general, however: the course description could include a specific example of a subject or learning experience, and the application advice could explain what documents or steps to prepare. Developing these details would make the advice more complete and persuasive.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The information follows a sensible progression from course details to your reasons for choosing the university and then application advice. Paragraph breaks help distinguish these parts, and the closing is appropriate for a personal letter. The sequence is clear, but some links between ideas are basic or repetitive: several sentences begin with “I chose,” and “This is because” introduces the university explanation in a rather mechanical way. The course and personal motivation paragraphs could also be connected more smoothly. Use a wider range of natural transitions and pronouns to link related points, while keeping the clear paragraph structure already present.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use enough vocabulary to explain the course, your career interests and the university’s qualities, including “accredited,” “alumni” and “interactive teaching methods.” These choices suit the topic, and the meaning remains clear. However, some expressions are imprecise or repetitive, such as “finance related” and “course study,” while “business minded” is a broad description rather than a precise explanation of your interest. There are also presentation issues with capitalisation, including “i” and “university” in the institution’s name. Aim for more precise collocations and vary repeated terms; this will make the letter sound more fluent and polished.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response includes both straightforward sentences and some longer structures, for example the sentence describing your future plans and the conditional advice beginning “If you would like to apply.” Most ideas are understandable, and errors do not prevent communication. Some grammatical and punctuation slips remain: “Dear Sarah.” should end with a comma, “i” should be capitalised, and “If you would like to apply to this same university i advise” needs clearer punctuation between the conditional clause and the main clause. The course description also has awkward article and noun phrasing in “was bachelor of commerce.” Review sentence punctuation, capitalisation and article use, and practise combining ideas accurately in longer sentences.

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