Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-04
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 Natalie,
Hope you are doing well. I am delighted to hear that you are moving to Korea for further studies in the Cambridge University, same university where I studied for two years. I was enrolled in Biology in science department and opposite that is Business Department where you will be studying.
No doubt, Korea has a strong and enriched history, I visited few popular sites and trust me I learnt a lot about their culture and different cuisines. Also, Korea has a advanced technology in every sector and people have a fast paced life there still everyone is so kind and helpful, the reason I made a lot of friends there.
Studying in a reputed university of Korea not only enhanced my practical knowledge and cultural exposure, but also encountered me with tremendous career opportunities with an international insights.
In case you need any other information I would love to assist you. Have a great time there.
Best wishes,
Dezaree Pal
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: you mentioned the location (Korea), described your learning about the country, and explained the benefits for your studies. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend's sister. However, the content is slightly underdeveloped. For instance, while you mention 'practical knowledge' and 'career opportunities', these points could be expanded with more specific examples to better illustrate how the year abroad helped your studies. Additionally, there is a factual inconsistency: you mention studying at 'Cambridge University' in Korea, which is confusing as Cambridge is in the UK. Ensure your ideas are logically consistent to fully satisfy the task requirements.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The letter follows a logical structure with a clear opening and closing. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the introduction, the description of the country, and the benefits of the experience. You use some cohesive devices like 'No doubt', 'Also', and 'In case', which help the flow of ideas. However, the transition between the first and second paragraph is a bit abrupt. To improve, ensure that your referencing is precise; for example, the phrase 'opposite that is Business Department' is slightly unclear in its connection to the previous sentence. Overall, the message is easy to follow.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.5
You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'fast paced life', 'cultural exposure', and 'international insights' are used effectively. There are some minor collocation issues, such as 'a advanced technology' (should be 'an advanced') and 'in the Cambridge University' (should be 'at Cambridge University'). You also use 'encountered me with', which is an unnatural collocation; 'provided me with' or 'exposed me to' would be more accurate. While you attempt some less common vocabulary, the word choice is occasionally imprecise, which prevents a higher score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'I visited few popular sites' (missing 'a'), 'a advanced technology' (incorrect article), and 'in the Cambridge University' (unnecessary article). The sentence 'Studying in a reputed university of Korea not only enhanced my practical knowledge and cultural exposure, but also encountered me with...' is a complex structure, but the verb choice 'encountered' is grammatically incorrect in this context. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher band score.
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.