Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-10

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 Aman,

I hope you are doing well. I heard from your brother that you are planning to study abroad for a year as a part of your university program. I would love to share my experience as I have recently completed my study from one of the top colleges in Toronto named, Loyalist college and had a really great experience.

In this country I had learnt numerous things such as, different culture, different cuisines their lifestyle and various useful skills that can be helpful for an individual and for their future growth not only personal development but also in a professional development.

I have studied a program in the field of social behavior and culture. It was a great opportunity for me to study this program in a country like Canada which is recognized as multi cultural society. I found my study very easy because my environment was giving me an opportunity to interact people of different cultures and race with whom I used to interact daily and discuss various things which helps me to accomplish my study.

I wish you good luck for your study and hope you will like studying abroad.

Yours Sincerely,

Lovejeet Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points: the location (Toronto/Loyalist College), what was learned about the country (culture, lifestyle, multiculturalism), and the benefits to studies (social behavior and culture program). The tone is appropriate for a friendly letter. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the description of what was learned about the country is a list of general nouns rather than a detailed description. Similarly, the explanation of how the year helped the studies is a bit repetitive and lacks specific examples of how the environment directly improved academic performance. To reach a higher band, you should provide more concrete examples or personal anecdotes.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. Paragraphing is used correctly to separate the different requirements of the prompt. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical. For example, the transition 'In this country' is a bit abrupt, and the sentence structure within the third paragraph is slightly repetitive, relying heavily on 'I' and 'my'. While the progression of ideas is clear, the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and better referencing to avoid repetitive phrasing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'multicultural society' and 'professional development'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For example, 'completed my study from' should be 'completed my studies at', and 'interact people' should be 'interact with people'. Additionally, the phrase 'accomplish my study' is not natural in this context; 'complete my coursework' or 'succeed in my studies' would be more appropriate. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey meaning, but it lacks the precision and flexibility required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The letter contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors. For instance, 'I had learnt' should be 'I learned' (simple past is more appropriate here), and 'different culture, different cuisines their lifestyle' lacks proper punctuation and parallel structure. There are also minor errors in preposition usage and article omission, such as 'interact people' instead of 'interact with people'. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct prepositional phrases will improve your accuracy.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.