Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Dear Dil,

I hope you are going well, I recieved a message from arsh about your plan for spending a year studying abroad as part of her university course. I aslo did my masters last year in Western Community university in Surrey bc, Canada. I have great expeience here in canada it helps me alot to become independant. Along with my studies i did part time job in same field of my studies it not only help me to enhance my skills but also help to pay my tution fees as well.

Furthermore, when i was in the college everyday i meet with different people which also supports me to grab knowledge about culture of this country, newly i have some language barrier but with my studies and experience i improve my skills very fast. Overall, my experience was great for my overall growth for better future.

Best Wishes,

Reet

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the three requested points: you identify your study location as Western Community University in Surrey, Canada, mention learning about local culture and language, and explain that a related part-time job developed your skills and helped with tuition. However, the country-learning point is brief, and the benefit to your studies could be explained more directly—for example, how the job or cultural experience supported your academic work. The response contains 139 words, so it is 11 words below the required minimum; 11 words copied from the task prompt were not counted. This shortfall contributes to the limited development of the ideas. Add specific details while keeping the letter focused on the recipient.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter has a recognisable sequence: you introduce your experience, describe work and encounters with people, then give an overall reflection and sign-off. Linking expressions such as “Furthermore” and “Overall” help signal movement between ideas. However, most of the information is packed into two long paragraphs, and the progression between studying, working, and learning about the country is not always clear. Some links are also mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “also” and “help.” Use separate paragraphs for your location, cultural learning, and academic benefits, and connect each point explicitly to the next. This would make the organisation easier to follow and reduce the impression of a list of related experiences.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough relevant vocabulary to communicate the main experiences, including “part time job,” “language barrier,” “culture,” and “independent.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, such as “grab knowledge,” “supports me to,” and “for my overall growth for better future.” Spelling errors—including “recieved,” “expeience,” and “tution”—also make the writing less polished. Aim for more natural phrases such as “learn about the local culture,” “helped me develop my skills,” and “contributed to my personal growth.” Checking spelling and choosing precise collocations will make your meaning clearer and more fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to combine ideas using clauses, as in “it not only help to enhance my skills but also help to pay my tuition fees,” and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, the range of sentence structures is limited, and errors occur frequently in verb forms, agreement, articles, and punctuation. For example, “I hope you are going well” and “everyday i meet with different people” need more accurate sentence patterns and tense choices. The opening also joins two complete ideas with a comma: “I hope you are going well, I received a message…” Separate these with a full stop or use a suitable conjunction. Practise accurate past-tense sentences and vary sentence openings.

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

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