Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-02
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 Sister,
Hope you are doing well. I am writing this email to you regarding the information you asked me about a year I spent studying abroad and you also have to as a part of your university course. I will share my experience with you.
Firstly, I came for doing the course which is for 2 years that is MBA, I did it from the University Canada West the most popular university in Canada.
Furthermore, I had many different experiences like some people are too much in sharing and will take you with them but some of them are like not even talking. I found the culture here is more on what you want, you can say no easily if you are uncomfortable or not confident answering anything.
Finally, studying in this foreign country was helpful for my studies because I'll get more opportunities for my future job.
I think this will help you to take your decision in studying in the other country.
Kind regards,
Aditi Gupta
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The letter addresses all three bullet points: the location of study, cultural observations, and the benefits to your studies. However, the development of these ideas is quite limited. For instance, the explanation of how the year abroad helped your studies is very brief and lacks specific detail. The tone is also slightly inconsistent; addressing the friend's sister as 'Dear Sister' is unnatural, as you should use her name. To improve, you should expand on your points with more specific examples or personal anecdotes to provide a more comprehensive response to the prompt.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The letter is organised into short paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use some basic cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'Furthermore', and 'Finally' to link your ideas. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the transition between the MBA course and the cultural observations feels abrupt. The opening is also slightly confusing, as the phrasing 'you also have to as a part of your university course' does not clearly connect to the context of the letter.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. Phrases like 'too much in sharing' and 'not even talking' are informal and imprecise, failing to convey the intended meaning effectively. You rely on basic sentence structures and common words. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more precise collocations and a wider range of vocabulary related to the topic of studying abroad, such as 'cultural immersion', 'academic prospects', or 'interpersonal dynamics', rather than relying on repetitive or overly simplistic phrasing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
There is a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. For example, 'I came for doing the course' should be 'I came to do the course', and 'I'll get more opportunities' should be 'I gained more opportunities' to maintain consistent tense. Additionally, the sentence 'you also have to as a part of your university course' is grammatically incomplete and confusing. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors suggests a need for more careful proofreading and a better grasp of verb tenses and sentence construction.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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