Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-03

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 6.5)

Dear Vrushali,

I hope you are doing well.

I am writing to share my experience studying abroad in the US at Boston University as part of my University course.

I completed my first three years of MS in Mechanical Engineering at Mumbai University and the for the final year I moved to US to complete my final year at Boston University. Overall, studying abroad was an amazing experience. I had the opportunity to experience new modern life and education in the United States, which was very valuable and enriching.

Usa is country full of opportunities if you have good talent with in you which they require in the US as there are lots of opportunities you could land. People in the US are slightly shy and inward at first but if you befriend them they can be your best friend. In addition, you would get to meet people from all around the world so you can become familiar with their traditions and customs, food and their perspective when you interact with them.

During classes I experienced different styles of teaching and learned varied perspectives and it was well worth. Also, there was a lot practical learning which happened which was really helped me in understanding complex subjects and theories. Apart from that, I was able to imporve my critical thinking skills and communication skills and became confident and more knowledgeable.

I hope this has helped you, but if you have any further questions please feel free to get back to me.

Kind regards,

Sankalp Diwate.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly identified your location (Boston University, US), described your observations about the country, and explained the academic benefits of your experience. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend's sister, maintaining a helpful and encouraging persona throughout. The ideas are relevant and sufficiently developed to meet the task requirements. To reach a higher band, you could provide more specific examples of the 'complex subjects' or 'traditions' you mentioned to add depth to your personal narrative.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. Each paragraph focuses on a distinct aspect of the prompt, which helps the reader follow your experience easily. You use some cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'Apart from that', and 'Overall' to link your ideas. However, the flow between some sentences is slightly mechanical, and the transition between the description of the country and the academic benefits could be smoother. Using a wider variety of linking words would improve the overall cohesion of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, using terms like 'enriching', 'critical thinking', and 'perspectives'. However, there are some issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'good talent with in you' and 'inward at first', which sound slightly unnatural. Additionally, there are minor errors in word formation, such as 'imporve' (improve). While these do not impede communication, they prevent the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on more precise collocations and checking for spelling accuracy will help improve your score in this area.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'the for the final year I moved to US' (missing articles and redundant words) and 'which was really helped me' (incorrect verb form). While these errors are noticeable, they do not cause significant confusion for the reader. To improve, pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles (e.g., 'the US'). Increasing the frequency of error-free complex sentences will also help elevate your grammatical accuracy.

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.