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 excel at your studies. I'm telling you all this with my utmost experience.

My year abroad has taken me far beyond than you would've imagined. Upon acquiring my certifications from this foreign institute, career prospects and job opportunities have surprisingly uprisen. I've been interviewing at the to tech companies and they really care about where I've got my education from.

I wish all this information gives you enough confidence to pass with flying colors at your international study journey.

Lots of love,

Mohdeep

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter covers all three bullet points: the location (Niagara public college), the country (Canada), and the benefits for studies. However, the tone is inconsistent. While the prompt asks for a letter to a friend's sister, the language used is overly informal and sometimes confusing (e.g., 'doing fab', 'not gonna lie', 'put your hands on it'). The response addresses the requirements, but the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the description of what was learned about the country is vague, focusing more on general praise for Canada rather than specific cultural or academic insights. To reach a higher band, the content should be more focused and professional in tone while remaining friendly.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. There is a logical progression from the opening to the specific points requested. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or awkward, such as 'Your letter shined a little light on what country your study would be performed on.' Some transitions between ideas feel abrupt, and the referencing is occasionally unclear. While the overall arrangement is coherent, the flow could be improved by using more natural linking phrases to connect the personal anecdotes with the advice provided.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses a range of vocabulary, including some idiomatic expressions like 'on cloud nine' and 'pass with flying colors'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'uprisen' (which is not standard English), 'excessively busy' (used incorrectly in context), and 'to tech companies' (likely a typo for 'top'). The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and natural control required for a higher band. The tone is also quite colloquial, which may not be appropriate for the context of giving academic advice.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'I've received your letter since last week' (should be 'I received your letter last week'), 'you being studying abroad' (should be 'you studying abroad'), and 'one the best' (missing 'of'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are minor errors in sentence construction. The errors do not impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. More attention to verb tenses and preposition usage would improve the accuracy significantly.

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

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