Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Dear Marie,

How are you? I hope you're doing well.

I received your letter that you are planing to go to Norway for one year diploma course. I am very excited for you, and hope so it turned out to be one of the best decisions of your life.

As you already know I also had done one year diploma course from Norway, my medical university sponsered me. I did diploma in Autistic Health Science from The Norway University.

I had a delighted experience in Norway. The country is genuinely secured and beautiful. It is surrounded by majestic mountains and greenish valleys. Also, the crime rate of country is insignificant. You can safely travel on advanced public transport. In addition, the atmosphere of Norway is very welcoming and pleasent. I'm sure you'll enjoy there.

Finally, Studying in Norway prove really beneficial to my career. It improves my CV, and help me achieve job immediately after my graduation.

I look forward to seeing you soon.

Best wishes,

Arooj Maryam

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The letter addresses all three requested points and maintains an appropriate friendly tone, with a greeting, personal details and a suitable closing. You identify Norway as the country and name the university and diploma, while your comments on its scenery, safety and welcoming atmosphere give the reader some insight into the country. You also explain that the qualification improved your CV and helped you find work after graduation. However, the description of what you learnt about Norway is mostly a list of general impressions, and the academic benefit is stated briefly rather than explained. To strengthen the response, add a specific example of something you learnt about Norwegian culture or daily life, and explain how the course or experience developed skills relevant to your studies.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The information is arranged in a clear sequence: you respond to the plan, describe your own study experience, comment on Norway, and then explain the career benefit. Paragraphing helps distinguish these points, and phrases such as “As you already know,” “In addition,” and “Finally” guide the reader through the letter. The overall progression is easy to follow, though some linking feels mechanical, particularly the use of “Finally” to introduce the last point. The relationship between studying abroad and improving your studies could also be made clearer, since the conclusion focuses on your CV and employment. Use a more direct transition and connect the experience to a specific academic outcome to make the progression more natural and cohesive.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for a personal letter, including descriptive phrases such as “majestic mountains,” “crime rate,” and “welcoming atmosphere.” These choices help convey your positive impression of Norway, and the meaning remains clear throughout. There are also attempts at less common or formal language, but some choices are inaccurate or unnatural: “a delighted experience” would be more naturally expressed as “a delightful experience,” and “greenish valleys” does not convey the intended scenic description as effectively as “green valleys.” Spelling errors such as “planing,” “sponsered,” and “pleasent” also reduce accuracy. Aim for natural collocations and check spelling carefully; precise, familiar wording is more effective than an unusual phrase used inaccurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple sentences and some longer structures, including “I hope you’re doing well” and the sentence beginning “As you already know.” The message is generally understandable, but several errors in verb forms, agreement and sentence construction limit accuracy. For example, “I also had done one year diploma course” should use a more suitable tense and article, while “Studying in Norway prove” and “it improves my CV, and help me” contain agreement and tense inconsistencies. “I received your letter that you are planing” also needs a clearer grammatical structure. Review past-tense forms for your completed experience and keep the tense consistent when describing its results. More accurate control of these patterns, alongside varied sentence forms, would make the letter smoother.

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

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