Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Dear Baljinder,

I hope this letter finds you in good health and spirits. Recently, I received your email in which you mentioned that you're thinking of studying abroad for your 1-year course. I'm glad that you asked about my experience.

I studied digital marketing at Fleming College in Toronto a year ago, and I earned excellent marks because the faculty there were well-educated and knowledgeable. Canada is a vast and multicultural country. Where I learned how to start and grow my business as a pro.

This year abroad has been extremely helpful for my studies, as I got practical experience and improved my communication skills. Apart from that, I was planning to get admission at GNDU in the marketing field, but due to a lack of knowledge I always failed in my entrance exam. But after that, I cleared my exam and got admission.

I hope you will get admission. See you soon.

Yours lovingly,

Harmeet Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You successfully address all three bullet points required in the task instructions. You clearly state where you studied by mentioning Fleming College in Toronto, Canada. You describe what you learnt about the country by noting that Canada is a 'vast and multicultural country' and explaining how you learned to start and grow a business. Finally, you explain how the year abroad was helpful for your studies by highlighting the practical experience gained, improved communication skills, and how it helped you clear your university entrance exam. The tone is suitably informal for a letter to a friend's sister, and the purpose of the communication is well achieved. However, the development of some ideas is slightly brief, which keeps this criterion at a solid Band 7 level rather than higher.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

Your letter demonstrates a clear overall progression and logical organisation. You begin with appropriate opening pleasantries, move smoothly through the required bullet points in separate paragraphs, and conclude with warm closing remarks. Cohesive devices are used adequately, such as 'Apart from that' and 'But after that', though some transitions feel a bit repetitive or slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct topics like your course location, cultural insights, and academic benefits. Referencing is generally clear, allowing the reader to follow your personal narrative easily without confusion. Overall, the structure meets the requirements for a Band 6.5 or 7, comfortably earning a 6.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms related to education and business such as 'digital marketing', 'faculty', 'multicultural', and 'entrance exam'. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary phrases like 'well-educated and knowledgeable' and 'practical experience'. However, there are minor awkward collocations, such as 'get admission at' instead of 'gain admission to', and phrasing like 'as a pro' which is overly informal and slightly imprecise for formal written evaluation. Despite these minor vocabulary slips, your message is communicated clearly throughout the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You display a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over basic grammar and past tense narration ('I studied', 'I earned', 'I learned'). There are several complex structures used effectively, such as 'I hope this letter finds you in good health and spirits' and 'This year abroad has been extremely helpful for my studies, as I got practical experience...'. However, there are some grammatical inaccuracies and punctuation issues, including sentence fragments ('Where I learned how to start and grow my business as a pro.') and repetitive starting structures like consecutive sentences beginning with 'But'. These errors do not impede communication, placing your grammar performance firmly at a Band 6.

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