Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-09
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 Nidhi,
Congratulations for Canadian visa! I am glad that you asked for an advice regarding spending a year out of your home country and explore the foreign culture.
I studied at Conestoga College for one academic year. During my visit, I had the opportunity to learn about Canadian culture, traditional food and the way of life there. I learned that Canadians are generally friendly, relaxed and open minded. I also met a lot of students from different parts of world from different background.
My year abroad was extremely helpful for my studies because I learned profound skills, such as communication and research. I also became more confident and independent. Studying in the different education system helped me the understand a new perspective and subjects from a different point of view.
Overall, it was an unforgettable experience that helped me both academically and personally.
I hope you get a chance to study abroad someday too!
Best wishes,
Sujal Patel
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0
You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly stated where you studied (Conestoga College), described your observations about Canadian culture (friendly, relaxed, diverse), and explained the academic benefits (research skills, confidence, new perspectives). The tone is appropriate for a friendly letter, and the purpose is clear throughout. To reach a higher band, you could provide more specific, vivid examples of your academic experience—for instance, mentioning a specific project or a unique teaching style you encountered—to further develop your ideas and demonstrate a more personal connection to the experience.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The letter is well-organized with a logical progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the prompt, which makes the letter easy to follow. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'During my visit', 'I also', and 'Overall' to link your sentences and paragraphs effectively. While the flow is clear, the range of cohesive devices is somewhat limited. To improve, try incorporating a wider variety of linking words or phrases to show more sophisticated relationships between your ideas, such as 'consequently', 'furthermore', or 'in addition to this'.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'profound skills', 'open minded', and 'unforgettable experience'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For example, 'Congratulations for Canadian visa' should be 'Congratulations on your Canadian visa', and 'the understand a new perspective' contains a grammatical error that affects the lexical flow. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and ensure that your word choices are natural in the context of a personal letter. Expanding your vocabulary to include more descriptive adjectives would also enhance your writing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. Most of your sentences are clear and easy to understand. However, there are several recurring grammatical slips, such as missing articles ('the Canadian visa', 'the foreign culture') and minor errors like 'the understand' instead of 'understand'. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, pay closer attention to article usage and ensure that your verb forms are consistent throughout your sentences.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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