Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-12

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 Shalini,

I hope you and your family are doing really well! I am writing this letter to express my experience of studying abroad as your sister told me that you are planning to study abroad as a part of your university course.

I went to Kwantlen Polytechnic university to complete my post-graduate course. The course was related to green business. The university offer wide range of courses, and they also offer placements in the well-established companies.

I have learnt new culture and new language because majority of students in the university were enrolled from different countries. Moreover, I tried variety of food ,and explored distinct cultural clothes.

I think it was one of my best decision to study abroad because I learnt many new things. Although I had done my studies from university and gained hands-on experience on many new activities. The work experience I earned during study helping me in my future .

If you have any questions regarding any course or college, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Simran

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address all three requested points: you name Kwantlen Polytechnic University, mention learning about culture, language, food and clothing, and explain that the experience and work exposure helped your future. The letter is relevant and uses an appropriate friendly opening and closing. However, the country is never identified, and the description of what you learnt remains general; for example, “new culture and new language” does not explain what you discovered about the country itself. The study benefit is also not fully clear: “helping me in my future” does not specify how the year supported your university studies. Add the country’s name and one or two concrete examples linking the experience to your course.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable structure, with an opening, separate paragraphs for the university and cultural experience, and a closing invitation to ask questions. The ideas are generally easy to follow, and “Moreover” and “Although” show attempts to connect points. Some connections are mechanical or unclear, however. The sentence beginning “Although I had done my studies…” does not complete a clear contrast, and the relationship between the course, placements and your own experience could be explained more logically. The final “Thank you” and “Yours sincerely” also feel slightly abrupt after the offer to help. Use clearer links between each point and make sure each paragraph develops one connected idea.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for a personal letter, including “post-graduate course,” “green business,” “placements,” and “hands-on experience.” These choices help communicate the general subject and your experience. However, several phrases are imprecise or unnatural, such as “express my experience,” “distinct cultural clothes,” and “work experience I earned.” Some wording is also repetitive, particularly “new” in “new culture and new language” and “new things.” Choose more natural collocations and more specific terms to describe what you learned and how it relates to your studies. This would make your meaning more precise while retaining the friendly tone.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a reason clause with “because” and a contrast clause beginning “Although.” The main message is usually understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. For example, “The university offer” needs subject–verb agreement, while “because majority of students” is missing an article. The sentence “Although I had done my studies from university and gained hands-on experience…” is incomplete as written, and “The work experience I earned during study helping me” has an incorrect verb form. Review agreement, articles and complete sentence structure, especially when joining ideas with subordinating words. More accurate control of these patterns would make the letter smoother.

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