Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
dear raman
i hope you are doing well. i got your mail yesterday thats why i writing you today, you asked me about my experience in my university in abroad. Now I am sharing all the details: I studied at the University of Fraser Valley. it has a huge campus where you have different facilities like a library, canteen, and many more.
i studied in Canada, a wonderful country with different and wonderful people. people love each other and live with love. Their food and culture are also diverse. I enjoyed it a lot, which is best for your stress and for you. i made new friends which i believe is more learning things.
its is helpfull me as i have some serious issues related to other people. I studied many courses from which I overcame everything. I believe you learn more when you live on your own; you become independent financially and emotionally too. i think you will also learn these things while living there
your brother
rahul
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: you mentioned the University of Fraser Valley, described the Canadian culture and people, and explained the personal benefits of studying abroad. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation of how the year abroad helped your studies is vague, as you mention 'serious issues' without clarifying how the academic environment specifically helped you. To reach a higher band, ensure that your ideas are more fully extended with specific examples or clearer explanations of the connection between your experience and your academic growth.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The letter follows a logical sequence, moving from the greeting to the specific requirements of the task. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite mechanical and limited. You rely heavily on simple sentence structures, and there is a lack of varied linking words to connect your ideas smoothly. For example, the transition between discussing the campus and the country is abrupt. Improving your use of transition signals (e.g., 'Furthermore,' 'In addition to this,' 'Consequently') would help the flow of your writing and make the progression of ideas more natural.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You use repetitive phrasing, such as 'wonderful' and 'love,' which limits the impact of your description. There are also some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'many more' and 'more learning things,' which sound unnatural. To improve, try to incorporate more specific adjectives and collocations that reflect a more sophisticated command of English, such as 'multicultural environment' instead of 'different and wonderful people.'
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the letter, including issues with subject-verb agreement ('i writing you'), missing articles, and incorrect punctuation (e.g., lowercase 'i' throughout). While you attempt some complex structures, they are often faulty, such as 'its is helpfull me.' The majority of your sentences are simple, and the persistent errors in basic grammar and capitalization occasionally distract the reader. Focusing on proofreading for basic errors and practicing the correct use of complex sentence structures will significantly improve your score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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