Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

Dear Emma,

It was such a pleasant surprise to hear from you after a long time. In your letter, you mentioned that your younger sister is planning to move Canada for one year to study Project Management course from University of Toronto. I will be glad to share my experience with you because I have done the same course and it has helped me progress a lot in my career.

As you know, I went to Canada about 3 years ago to study Project Management course from University of Windsor, which is one of the well-known universities in Canada. For the first few months of my course, I rented an apartment and stayed there. However, it was far from the university and I used to spend 1 hour commuting to and from the univeristy daily, which I felt was time-consuming. Thereafter, I decided to move the dorm of my univeristy where I stayed with other students and was able to socialize with them.

By staying at the university campus, I learned a lot about Canadian culture and how people live their daily lives. Unlike India, children in Canada live a very independent life. They leave their parents house at the age of 18 years and also start working at the age of 16 years which is really great because from a very young age children can get experience of a real world. Initially, I had some language barrier issue because there is a huge difference between Canadian and Indian accent but with the passing of time I was able to fix my accent.

Let me explain why a year abroad was beneficial for my studies. Firtsly, the education system of Canada is different than India, there are no exams being taken anually. Moreover, we are being judged based on the projects we do during our academics which helps us develop skills related to our field. In addition to that, I was able to improve my communication skill which is very important for a Project Manager because my job is to communicate among various teams of my company to keep everyone updated. Just like me, I hope your younger sister will be able to learn a lot by going abroad for one year.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Your friend,

Sara

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points effectively. You clearly stated where you studied (University of Windsor), described your observations of Canadian culture, and explained the academic benefits of your experience. The tone is appropriate for a friendly letter, and the ideas are well-developed. However, there is a slight confusion in the opening: you address the letter to 'Emma' but then discuss her 'younger sister' as a third party, while the prompt implies you are writing directly to the sister. Despite this minor inconsistency in the scenario, the content remains relevant and fully addresses the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with clear paragraph breaks that separate the different requirements of the task. You use a variety of cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Thereafter', 'In addition to that', and 'Firstly' to guide the reader through your experience. The progression of ideas is smooth, moving from your background to your cultural observations and finally to the academic benefits. Referencing is generally clear, though the transition between addressing the friend and the sister could be more seamless. Overall, the structure is coherent and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your ideas clearly. Phrases like 'pleasant surprise', 'time-consuming', and 'language barrier' are used appropriately. There are some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'move Canada' (should be 'move to Canada') and 'fix my accent' (a more natural choice would be 'improve' or 'refine'). While you use some less common vocabulary, there is room for more sophisticated collocations to reach a higher band. Nevertheless, the vocabulary is adequate for the task and communication is never impeded.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as missing articles ('move to the dorm of my university'), incorrect prepositions ('study... from University'), and minor tense or agreement issues ('no exams being taken anually'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not prevent the reader from understanding your message. To improve, focus on article usage and prepositional phrases. Your control of complex sentences is decent, but increasing the accuracy of these structures will help you achieve a higher score.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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