Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-12

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 Kiara,

Hope you're doing well. I am absolutely delighted to learn that you received an offer letter to study in York University, Canada. I am writing to share some information with you regarding my experience.

To be honest, I really enjoyed studying in Chemical Laboratory Technician at Seneca College. Although I was uncertain about leaving my family and friends behind, I made this decision to build my career. I spent over two years for my post-graduation studies, which not only helped me to become more confident, but also responsible and independent individual. Furthermore, I am glad you choose Canada to study abroad. This country has countless things to offer especially for international students. It is a welcoming country with vibrant atmosphere and friendly people. Besides that, you'll find many educational opportunities with internships, which in turn will be an asset to secure a stable employment. I am grateful to study in Canada because it had helped me in both to develop my knowledge and practical skills.

Also, let me know if you need any assistance with the accommodation in Canada before you plan to move in.

Best wishes,

Payal

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all three bullet points required in the prompt appropriately. You successfully tell your friend's sister where you studied by mentioning Seneca College, describe what you learned about the country by noting that Canada is a welcoming place with a vibrant atmosphere, and explain why the year abroad was helpful for your studies by highlighting practical skills and internship opportunities. However, there are some slight confusions regarding the specific details, such as initially mentioning York University in the opening and then switching to Seneca College. Despite this slight incongruity, the purpose of the letter is clear, and the tone is appropriately friendly and consistent with general training letter writing requirements. The content fulfills the requirements well, earning a solid score in this category.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is generally clear and easy to follow, with a logical overall arrangement. You use appropriate paragraphing to separate your opening, main body points regarding your experience, and the closing offer of assistance. Cohesive devices are employed to connect ideas, such as 'Although', 'Furthermore', and 'Besides that'. However, referencing and transitions are at times a little mechanical or slightly awkward, such as transitioning from York University to Seneca College, which disrupts the smooth flow of information. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately for a personal letter, maintaining a clear structure throughout.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a general training letter, using descriptive phrases like 'absolutely delighted', 'post-graduation studies', and 'vibrant atmosphere'. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, but also a few word choice and collocation errors, such as 'glad you choose Canada' (instead of 'chose') and 'stable employment' (where 'stable employment' is slightly unnatural compared to 'steady employment' or 'job stability'). Additionally, the preposition use with 'grateful to study' could be more precise. These minor inaccuracies do not impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to the Band 6 range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and subordinate structures successfully, such as 'Although I was uncertain about leaving my family and friends behind, I made this decision to build my career.' There are, however, several grammatical errors present, including tense consistency issues like 'glad you choose Canada' and 'it had helped me in both to develop' (which contains redundant phrasing). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while these errors do persist, they rarely impede overall communication. The command of grammar shows a reasonable mix of structures suitable for a Band 6 performance.

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