Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-06

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 Susan,

I hope you are doing fab! I've been longing to see you guys for long. I've received your letter since last week but my schedule really kept my excessively busy so, accept a genuine sorry from your dearest friend. You've asked about me dropping some really helpful guidance towards you being studying abroad. Not gonna lie! It's pretty lucrative if you get to put your hands on it.

I studied at Niagara public college, one the best in whole Canada. Your letter shined a little light on what country your study would be performed on. On cloud nine to know that it's Canada!

One of the best places ever to upgrade you knowledge at you particular educational course. Canada is the most diversified and rapidly growing country with one of the finest educational institutes. In the long run, your one year study would be extremely helpful as teachers go the extra mile to make you excell at t

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points: it mentions the location (Niagara public college), describes the country (diversified, rapidly growing), and explains the benefit to studies. However, the response is incomplete, ending abruptly mid-sentence ('excell at t'). This lack of closure and the failure to finish the final point significantly impacts the development of ideas. While the tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, the content is somewhat superficial, and the abrupt ending prevents the response from fully meeting the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into paragraphs, and there is a basic attempt at logical progression. However, the flow is hindered by the incomplete final sentence. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'In the long run' and 'One of the best places', but some transitions feel slightly mechanical or forced. The referencing is generally clear, but the overall structure suffers because the letter does not reach a natural conclusion, leaving the reader without a proper sign-off or final thought.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for a semi-formal/informal letter, using phrases like 'on cloud nine' and 'go the extra mile'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'doing fab', 'longing to see you guys for long', and 'upgrade you knowledge at you particular educational course'. These errors occasionally cause the reader to pause, though they do not completely impede communication. A wider range of more precise vocabulary is needed to reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('my schedule really kept my excessively busy'), preposition errors ('at you particular educational course'), and punctuation slips. The abrupt ending of the final sentence is a major grammatical and structural failure. While the meaning is usually clear, the frequency of these errors indicates a lack of control over more complex structures, keeping the score in the mid-range.

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

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