Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-05
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 friend,
Today I am writing this letter to ask for your advice regarding my study abroad.
I hope you are doing well. I have tried to contact a few of my college friends to seek advice from them about my future career, but I was not able to reach them. Suddenly, I just remembered you and tried to contact you. Could you please help to guide about right path in study a foreign country?
I will let you know about my foreign experience so it will help you. I have done my master's degree at City University Canada, which was a really lucrative destination for my future goals. Overall, the education system and staff are really helpful and create a wonderful environment where everyone feels secure and safe.
I have learnt many new things from abroad by meeting with different people who have different experiences and ways of talking, and their diverse nature helped me to learn something new.
This experience taught me to become self-reliant and a decision-maker. Apart from that, I gained vast knowledge about many cultures and languages, which helped me to communicate easily with a lot of people.
I hope this information will help you to achieve your goals.
your faithfully
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to address the core task requirements. The prompt asks you to write to a friend's younger sister who is considering studying abroad. However, your letter is addressed to a 'friend' and the content is written as if you are asking for advice yourself ('Could you please help to guide about right path'), rather than providing advice to the sister. While you mention studying in Canada, the tone and purpose are misaligned with the instructions. You have addressed the bullet points regarding location and benefits, but the fundamental perspective of the letter is incorrect, which significantly impacts the task achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The letter is organized into paragraphs, but the logical flow is confusing due to the misinterpretation of the task. The transition from the opening (asking for advice) to the body (describing your own experience) is jarring and lacks a clear logical progression. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Apart from that' and 'Overall', but they feel somewhat mechanical. The paragraphing is present, but the internal structure of the paragraphs does not effectively support the intended purpose of the letter.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, though it lacks sophistication. You use some appropriate phrases like 'lucrative destination' and 'self-reliant', which demonstrate a decent range. However, there are some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'guide about right path' and 'diverse nature helped me to learn'. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the basic meaning, but it does not show the flexibility or precision required for higher bands.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'help to guide about right path' (missing object/preposition) and 'I have done my master's degree' (tense usage). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the overall control of complex structures is inconsistent.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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