Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-11

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 Shruti,

I hope you are doing great. It's been a long we had not caught up. I received your email and I am glad to know that you are interested in coming abroad. I would really like to share my own personal experience with you.

I recently finished my 2 years diploma at Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax (Canada) and It was great. University offer students not only educational courses but job opportunities as well.

Moreover, being here in Canada really shaped my personality. I grew up more stronger after facing the challenges that came across my way.

This country offers really good career plans and a chance to experience different culture, traditions and morals of life. Living here change the living standard of an individual.

Studying here helped me to get my dream job because my university provided me practical experience also, along with the theoretical lessons. Furthermore, I did not required to pay my full tuition fees as my university offer scholarships granted by the government. Therefore, I would also recommend you to take this chance and have the best out of it. I am ready to help you with the enrolment application.

Looking forward to see you!

Take care,

Mehak.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all three bullet points of the prompt: you identified the location (Canada), described what you learned about the country, and explained the academic benefits. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend's sister. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, when describing what you learned about Canada, you mention 'different culture, traditions and morals of life' but do not elaborate on what these actually are. Similarly, the explanation of how the year helped your studies is a bit brief. To reach a higher band, ensure that each point is expanded with specific details or personal anecdotes to provide a more comprehensive response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Furthermore', and 'Therefore' to link your ideas. However, the paragraphing is slightly inconsistent, and some transitions feel a bit mechanical. The flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that the progression of ideas is smoother. For example, the transition from discussing the university to discussing the country's culture is a bit abrupt. Overall, the message is easy to follow, but the use of cohesive devices could be more sophisticated.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'theoretical lessons', 'enrolment application', and 'practical experience'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'grew up more stronger' (should be 'grew stronger'), 'did not required to pay' (should be 'was not required to pay'), and 'have the best out of it' (should be 'make the most of it'). These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit your score. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and ensuring that your word forms are grammatically correct in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is good. However, there are several grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'It's been a long we had not caught up' (should be 'It's been a long time since we caught up'), 'University offer' (should be 'The university offers'), and 'Living here change' (should be 'Living here changes'). Additionally, there are issues with verb tense and subject-verb agreement. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall fluency and accuracy of your writing. Focusing on proofreading for basic agreement and tense consistency will help you improve.

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

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