Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-05
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
The younger sister of one of your friends is thinking about spending a year studying abroad as part of her university course. You did this recently, and she has asked you about your experience.
Write a letter to your friend's sister. In your letter
tell her where you studied during your year abroad
describe what you learnt about the country you studied in
explain why your year abroad was helpful for your studies
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear........,
Student answer (Band 4.5)
Dear Tina,
I hope you are doing great. I recently got your messege you want to pursue your one year university course in overseas.
Actually, i studied in reputative one of college in Ontario the name is Conestoga institute located in Kitchner. I took admission in Human services foundation which was one year course.
During my study, i had a part- time job in tim hortons . I learnt alot there like how to mange work and study.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 3.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0
You begin appropriately with “Dear Tina” and identify where you studied: Conestoga Institute in Kitchener, Ontario. However, the response addresses the task only partially. You mention learning to manage work and study through a part-time job, but this does not explain what you learnt about the country itself, such as its culture, people, or daily life. The final point—how the year abroad helped your studies—is also not explained; managing work and study is a personal skill, not a clear academic benefit. The response is substantially below the required 150 words, so there is not enough development to cover all three points. Add specific details and explain how the experience supported your university learning.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5
The ideas are presented in a broadly understandable order: you introduce the reason for writing, name your college and course, and then mention your job. This gives the reader a basic progression. However, the letter is very brief and has no clear paragraphing or closing, so it feels unfinished rather than like a complete personal letter. Connections between ideas are also limited: “Actually” introduces the study details, but the relationship between your course, your job, and the requested benefits is not made clear. Organise the response into paragraphs for the location and course, what you discovered about the country, and how the experience helped your studies. Use simple linking phrases to show how each detail answers Tina’s questions.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “year,” “college,” “Human services foundation,” and “part-time job,” and the main meaning is generally recoverable. However, the range is limited, and several spelling or word-choice errors make the letter less polished: “messege,” “reputative,” “Kitchner,” and “mange.” Some expressions are also unnatural, such as “pursue your one year university course in overseas” and “I learnt alot there.” These choices can make the reader pause, even though the intended ideas are mostly understandable. Build a wider set of phrases for describing study-abroad experiences, such as “adjust to local customs,” “gain insight into,” and “apply course concepts in practice,” and check spelling carefully.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response relies mainly on short, simple sentences, with little variety in sentence structure. There is an attempt to use a subordinate clause in “I recently got your messege you want to pursue…,” but the ideas need a clearer grammatical connection, for example, “I recently got your message saying that you want to…” Other issues include inconsistent capitalisation in “i,” missing or incorrect articles in “one of college,” and the awkward construction “in overseas.” The sentence “I took admission in Human services foundation” also needs a more natural grammatical pattern. These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the basic message, but they limit accuracy and control. Practise combining ideas with accurate clauses and checking articles, prepositions, and sentence boundaries.
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