Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Dear Chippy,

I hope this letter finds you well. It has been a while since we last met, congratulations on your graduation. I am excited that you are going to grab an opportunity to do your masters in the abroad university.

I have recently finished my graduation last year in the Sheridan university where you are going to get in enroll. It is renowned education center in the North America. This place is far from the city area and it has not only good transportation facilities but also peaceful environment for study.

During that time I learned traditions and cultures of their locality. Apart from that I also enhanced my culinary skill in preparing abroad dishes. My communication and time management skills improved efficiently accordingly their native styles. Additionally, I learned different methods of studying.

Taking admission in an international university helped me to grow professionally. I gained more practical knowledge rather than theoretical, which opened the doors for my field job. Studying abroad escaped me from social life, in results I developed concentration on important tasks.

I wish you a good luck with your new journey, please feel free to reach out to me for any requirements and inquires.

Warm wishes,

Yash Patel

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The writer successfully covers all bullet points required by the prompt. The letter begins appropriately with 'Dear Chippy,' and appropriately addresses the friend's sister. The response clearly states where the writer studied ('Sheridan university'), describes what was learnt about the country (traditions, cultures, culinary skills), and explains how the year abroad helped with studies (gaining practical knowledge, developing concentration, and learning different study methods). Ideas are relevant and supported, though some points, such as the social life aspect ('escaped me from social life'), are slightly unusual in expression. Overall, the task is fully addressed, demonstrating a clear, polite tone suitable for a General Training letter. The band descriptor for Band 7 is well-matched here, as all parts of the prompt are clearly addressed with relevant details.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is logically organised into a standard friendly letter format with appropriate paragraphing. Each paragraph has a clear focus: the opening and introduction of the university, the cultural and lifestyle learnings, the academic benefits, and the closing wishes. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Apart from that', 'Additionally', and 'In results', though some referencing and cohesion are a bit mechanical or slightly unnatural (e.g., 'in results' instead of 'as a result'). Paragraphing is sufficient and appropriate throughout, guiding the reader smoothly from one point to the next. This aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors, as there is a coherent overall arrangement despite some occasional faulty or mechanical cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'renowned education center', 'culinary skill', and 'practical knowledge'. However, there are notable word-choice and collocation errors that prevent a higher score, such as 'get in enroll' (should be 'enroll'), 'the abroad university' (should be 'an overseas university'), 'in the North America' (should be 'in North America'), and 'field job' (should be 'career' or 'chosen field'). Despite these inaccuracies, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning without impeding communication, fitting the Band 6 profile.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and introductory prepositional phrases ('During that time I learned...', 'Taking admission in an international university helped me...'). However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, including article misuse ('in the Sheridan university', 'in the abroad university'), preposition issues ('get in enroll'), and an incorrect collocation in 'escaped me from social life'. Punctuation is generally fine, and these errors rarely impede overall communication. This mix of structures and persistent errors is characteristic of Band 6 performance.

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

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