Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-13

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 5.5)

Dear friend,

Hope you are doing well

I am feeling great to tell you about my experience to study abroad. Well i did my study in LaSalle college in Surrey Canada and it is the best college withe lot of facilities I really enjoyed of one year study in this college.

If i am take about a Country so this is well developed country and before i go to Canada i did not have much knowledge about it like how is they country why its famous and who live here most. However, now i have great knowledge about this such as Canada is beauitful nation with different culture of people live and all facilities are avaliable like good jobs , better transport also lot of different places to visit.

During my study i learn many more things i am became independed i start doing my all work by myself and college is also helpful i easily complete my course because teachers was very helpful and having great knowledge.

See you soon

Lots of love

Inderjeet

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response successfully covers all the bullet points outlined in the prompt. You mentioned where you studied by writing 'LaSalle college in Surrey Canada', described what you learned about the country by noting that 'Canada is beauitful nation with different culture', and explained why it was helpful for your studies by mentioning that 'I am became independed' and that the teachers were helpful. The tone is appropriate for an informal letter to a friend's sister, though it begins with 'Dear friend' rather than addressing her by name. Ideas are generally relevant, but some points, such as the benefits to your studies, remain somewhat underdeveloped and brief. This performance aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors, as all parts of the task are addressed, but some areas lack full elaboration.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter lacks proper paragraphing and is written essentially as one large block of text with minimal breaks, making the overall structure somewhat disjointed. While there is a basic chronological progression from discussing the college to describing the country and then explaining personal growth, the transitions between ideas are abrupt. Cohesive devices are used sparingly and sometimes inaccurately, such as 'If i am take about a Country', which sounds unnatural and conversational rather than cohesive. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as pronoun use referring to the country and college interchangeably without smooth signposting. This corresponds to a Band 5 level of coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, but it is basic and repetitive throughout the letter, featuring words like 'good', 'great', and 'different' multiple times. There are several noticeable spelling and word choice errors, including 'withe' instead of 'with', 'independed' instead of 'independent', and 'beauitful' instead of 'beautiful'. Additionally, phrasing such as 'feeling great to tell you' is unnatural. These lexical limitations and errors constrain precision, though communication is not severely impeded. This fits comfortably within the Band 5 descriptors for lexical resource.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response features a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences joined by coordinating conjunctions like 'and' or run-on structures without adequate punctuation. For example, the sentence 'Well i did my study in LaSalle college in Surrey Canada and it is the best college withe lot of facilities I really enjoyed of one year study in this college' demonstrates serious punctuation and run-on issues. There are frequent errors in verb tense and agreement, such as 'teachers was very helpful' and 'i start doing'. Complex structures are attempted with varying degrees of accuracy, leading to frequent errors that cause some difficulty for the reader. This corresponds to a Band 5 score.

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.