Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)
Dear Amanda,
I hope you are doing great. I am writing in response to your querry about my experience of studying abroad, since you are also planning to spend one year as part of your university course.
I studied in renowned university of Istanbul, Turkey. My mains were geography and history. During my stay there, I learned not only through books, but also through trips to hostorical and geographically important places.
I learned many things, which now fascinates me, including their culture, local language and ccoking traditional food. I was living with a turkish family and enjoyed every day I spent with them. They used to tell me stories of muslims leaders and their success stories which I use to hear with keen interest.
My diploma in geography and history from Turkey proved to be quite beneficial for my further studies in my home country. Living with the locals and roaming around, enhanced my knowledge on these topics and now I have had enough idea of exploration in my own country wher I intend to do phd in same subjects, because it my mind clear about deciding the subjects for phd.
I hope answers to your questions are clearly stated. If you need further assisstance, feel free to reach out to me.
Best wishes,
Tina.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0
The letter addresses all three required points and maintains a suitable, friendly tone. You identify Istanbul, Turkey, as the place of study, describe learning about local culture, language, food and history, and explain that living with local people and visiting places strengthened your knowledge for further study. The link to your planned PhD also gives the final point a personal purpose. These ideas are relevant and generally clear, though some details are broad: for example, “their culture” and “stories of muslims leaders” could be made more specific, and the benefit to your university studies could be explained with a concrete example of a skill or subject you developed. More precise supporting detail would make the response feel more fully developed.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The information is arranged in a sensible sequence: you introduce the reason for writing, describe your studies and experiences, explain their value, and close politely. Separate paragraphs help the reader follow these stages, and phrases such as “During my stay there” and “I hope” support the progression. This is a coherent overall arrangement. However, some links between ideas are abrupt or unclear, particularly in the long final paragraph, where the connection between living with locals, gaining knowledge, and deciding on a PhD is compressed into one sentence. The repeated use of “I learned” also makes the development somewhat predictable. Use clearer links to show cause and effect, and divide the final explanation into shorter, more focused sentences.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “studying abroad,” “traditional food,” “beneficial,” and “further studies,” so the main message is understandable. There are also attempts at more specific language, such as “geographically important places” and “keen interest.” However, spelling errors and imprecise or unnatural combinations are noticeable, including “querry,” “hostorical,” “ccoking,” and “enhanced my knowledge on these topics.” Phrases such as “renowned university” and “enough idea of exploration” do not sound natural in their contexts. Aim for accurate, conventional collocations and check spelling carefully; for example, say that visits “deepened my understanding of the country’s geography and history.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The letter includes both simple sentences and attempts at more complex structures, such as “I learned many things, which now fascinates me, including…” and the explanation beginning “because it my mind clear…”. The intended meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in agreement, articles, verb forms and sentence construction are frequent enough to affect clarity. For instance, “many things, which now fascinates me” needs a plural verb, while “I use to hear” should be “I used to hear.” The final sentence beginning “because” is incomplete or poorly connected, and “I studied in renowned university” is missing an article. Practise building accurate complex sentences, and proofread each sentence for a clear subject, verb and complete clause.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.