Band 8.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 8.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-15

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 8.5)

Dear Sarah,

I hope you’re doing well! Your brother mentioned that you are thinking about spending a year studying abroad, so I am writing to share my experience and give you some advice.

As you might know, I recently completed my exchange program at the University of Barcelona in Spain. I stayed in a student residence near the main campus, which made it incredibly easy to settle in, explore the historic city, and make new friends from day one.

Living there taught me a lot about the country's unique way of life. I quickly learned that Spanish culture heavily prioritizes a strong work-life balance and long family meals. Immersing myself in their daily routines and attending local festivals gave me a completely new perspective on their lifestyle.

Academically, the year was immensely helpful for my studies. Taking specialized modules in international business, which were not offered back home, broadened my knowledge significantly. Furthermore, adapting to a different teaching style gave me a competitive edge for my final exams.

Please let me know if you need help with your application!

Warm regards,

Alex

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 9.0

You have fully and effectively covered all parts of the task prompt. You successfully began the letter with the required greeting 'Dear Sarah,'. You clearly stated where you studied by mentioning 'the University of Barcelona in Spain'. Furthermore, you provided vivid and specific descriptions of what you learned about the country, noting that 'Spanish culture heavily prioritizes a strong work-life balance and long family meals'. You also fully explained how the year abroad helped your academic studies by detailing how taking specialized modules in international business broadened your knowledge and gave you a competitive edge. Your ideas are well-developed, fully relevant to the prompt, and appropriately structured for a general training letter, earning a top-tier band score for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.5

Your letter demonstrates a very high standard of coherence and cohesion. Ideas are logically sequenced and flow naturally from your opening pleasantries into the specific details of your exchange program, cultural insights, and academic benefits. Paragraphing is used skillfully and appropriately, with each paragraph having a clear and distinct focus, such as accommodation, cultural learnings, and academic progress. Cohesive devices are used naturally and unobtrusively, such as 'Furthermore' and 'As you might know', which help guide the reader smoothly through the text without ever feeling mechanical or forced. The referencing pronouns are also clear and precise throughout the entire letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 8.0

You have used a wide, fluent, and flexible range of vocabulary appropriate for an informal yet informative letter. You successfully incorporated less common lexical items and collocations with a strong sense of natural style, such as 'exchange program', 'historic city', 'work-life balance', 'Immersing myself', and 'specialized modules'. Word choices and collocations are used with a high degree of precision, and there are no noticeable inaccuracies or spelling mistakes. Your vocabulary allows you to convey precise shades of meaning, particularly when discussing cultural observations and academic advantages, demonstrating a mastery of lexical control well-suited for a high band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 8.5

Your response exhibits a wide and varied range of grammatical structures. You successfully integrated complex sentences containing relative clauses and participial phrases, such as 'which made it incredibly easy to settle in' and 'Immersing myself in their daily routines and attending local festivals gave me a completely new perspective'. The majority of your sentences are entirely error-free, displaying excellent control over tense consistency, subject-verb agreement, and punctuation. Where complex structures are attempted, they are handled with fluency and accuracy, resulting in smooth readability and communication that is never impeded by grammatical flaws.

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

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