Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-13

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 Monica

I hope you are doing well. I am writing this letter because of your questions. Firstly, I studied about Business Management program in Barcelona. It was increadible experience for me, and you will gain multinaonal relationships. They will contrubite your career pathway.

There are numerous course avalaible in university campus area such as sports activities, cinema, music club and dance events. They may assist you might be socialize easily and you will learn about new culture, language and social network. When I was in Barcelona I improved my English and Spanish skills. In my education year, there was a chance to do mandatory internship in some companies which have collaborations with University, it helped for my future career.

To sum up, If you studied in Barcelona, you would enhance your abilities. Spain culture has many similarities between our country this will beneficial for you. In addition, they have modern dormitory which has many opportunies for student and has discount in some restaurant.

If you have more questions please let me know.

Thank you.

Batuhan Gozuacik.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three requested points: you identify Barcelona, mention learning about Spanish culture and language, and explain that the internship and improved language skills supported your future career and education. These are relevant details, and the friendly closing suits the letter. However, the account of what you learnt about the country is less fully developed than the study-related benefits; for example, “Spain culture has many similarities” is vague and does not explain what you discovered. The opening also refers to “your questions” without directly setting out your experience. To strengthen the response, add a specific observation about life or culture in Spain and explain more clearly how the internship or courses helped your university studies.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter has a recognisable structure, moving from an opening to details about study and life in Barcelona, then to a concluding recommendation and sign-off. Paragraphing helps separate these stages, and expressions such as “Firstly,” “To sum up,” and “In addition” show attempts to guide the reader. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow: the first paragraph moves quickly from the programme to relationships and career, while the second combines campus activities, socialising, language learning, and an internship. Some links are mechanical or unclear, particularly “They may assist you might be socialize easily.” Group related points more carefully and use clearer links between the experience, what you learnt, and its academic benefits.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use a range of relevant vocabulary, including “Business Management,” “mandatory internship,” “collaborations,” and “social network,” which helps communicate the main experience. There are also attempts to use less common expressions, but spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable and sometimes make the message harder to understand. Examples include “increadible,” “multinaonal,” “contrubite,” and “opportunies.” Some phrases are also unnatural, such as “studied about Business Management program” and “Spain culture.” Aim for accurate spelling and natural collocations, and choose precise words rather than relying on broad terms such as “abilities.” Proofreading and learning phrases in context would make your vocabulary more effective.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional recommendation (“If you studied in Barcelona, you would enhance your abilities”) and a relative clause about companies collaborating with the university. The main message is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. For example, “There are numerous course” has a number-agreement problem, and “which has many opportunies for student and has discount” contains issues with agreement and plural forms. The sentence beginning “When I was in Barcelona” also shifts awkwardly from past experience to present benefits. Review articles, singular and plural agreement, and sentence boundaries; splitting longer sentences will help you express each idea more accurately.

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.