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 Maria,

I hope you are doing great. I was glad to hear that you are planning to go to Australia for study. It would definitely benefit you in further study or career prospects.

During my trip to Australia, I took 1-year program in MacEwan University, which is one of the best government-funded universities. The fee was reasonable and a lot more facilities were provided by them such as a accommodation and job placement. So, I felt more relaxed and got more time to explore around the country.

After visiting and interacting with people there I learned about culture and history. It helped to to develop essential skills such as impressive communation, observation and it boosted my confidence. Moreover, I gained valuable international work experience, which might help me to get more career opportunities.

My program was closely aligned with my current study in India, software engineering. Therefore, it was highly useful in my current projects and assignments. In addition to this, my continure study prevented form intruption, and I did not feel distracted.

I would suggest you to make your trip worthwhile by using your time in learning things, and experiencing a work and study culture. I wish you enjoy your tour.

Best regards,

Rahul

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The candidate has successfully addressed all three bullet points required in the prompt. First, the writer mentions studying in Australia, specifically at MacEwan University (though note a slight geographical mix-up as MacEwan is in Canada, this does not affect the task fulfillment for a General Training letter). Second, the writer describes learning about culture and history through interaction with local people. Third, the explanation of how the year abroad helped with university studies in software engineering is clearly articulated. The tone is appropriately friendly and conversational for a letter to a friend's sister, fulfilling the communicative purpose well. The response meets all task requirements, earning a solid Band 7.0 for fully addressing all parts of the task with relevant and well-supported ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organised and easy to follow, with a clear beginning and ending. The text is divided into appropriate paragraphs, each focusing on a distinct aspect such as accommodation, cultural learning, and academic benefits. Cohesive devices are used adequately, including transition words like 'Moreover', 'Therefore', and 'In addition to this'. However, referencing and transitions are at times slightly mechanical rather than completely fluid, as seen with 'After visiting and interacting with people there I learned about culture and history.' Despite these minor limitations, the overall progression is logical and clear, demonstrating the characteristics of a Band 7 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a general correspondence task, including phrases like 'government-funded universities', 'career opportunities', and 'international work experience'. Less common lexical items are attempted, such as 'aligned with' and 'continure study' (intended as continuous study). There are a few noticeable lexical and typographical errors, such as '1-year program' instead of a written form, 'a accommodation' (article error), and the misspelling 'communation' and 'continure'. Nevertheless, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning with some precision, which aligns well with the descriptors for Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses ('which is one of the best government-funded universities') and conditional or causal structures ('Therefore, it was highly useful...'). There are several grammatical errors present throughout the text, including 'It helped to to develop' (doubled preposition/particle), 'prevented form intruption' (preposition and spelling error), and minor punctuation oversights. While these errors do occur, they rarely impede communication, and the majority of simple sentences remain accurate. This balanced profile fits comfortably into the Band 6 descriptor.

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

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