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 to study. It would definitely benefit you in further study or career prospects.

During my trip to Australia, I took a 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 an 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 me develop essential skills such as impressive communication, 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 continue study prevented from interuption, 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 6.5

The response successfully covers all bullet points required by the task. First, the student states where they studied, mentioning MacEwan University in Australia, although there is a slight geographical confusion as MacEwan is actually located in Canada. However, for a General Training task, this does not impede the fulfilment of the prompt. Second, the writer describes what was learned about the country, noting that they interacted with people to learn about culture and history. Finally, the letter clearly explains why the year abroad was helpful for their studies, noting that the program was aligned with their software engineering degree and prevented educational interruption. All parts of the prompt are addressed adequately, placing this securely at a Band 6.5 to 7.0 level. The tone is appropriate for writing to a friend's sister, and the purpose of the letter is clear throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter demonstrates a clear overall arrangement and logical progression. The response is divided into logical paragraphs, with an appropriate opening and closing. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'Moreover', 'Therefore', and 'In addition to this'. However, some of the referencing and transitions feel slightly mechanical. For instance, the transition between paragraphs could be smoother, and minor issues with cohesion appear, such as in the phrase 'prevented from interuption', which disrupts the flow slightly. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate different aspects of the experience, such as the university details, cultural learnings, and academic benefits. Overall, the organizational structure is easy to follow, supporting a solid Band 6.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student displays an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating key points. Expressions like 'government-funded universities', 'job placement', and 'international work experience' demonstrate a reasonable control of lexical items. However, there are some noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'take a 1-year program in MacEwan University' (instead of 'at'), and the misspelling 'interuption'. Other phrases like 'explore around the country' are slightly unnatural. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the message clearly and attempts are made to use less common items, the presence of these lexical inaccuracies prevents the response from reaching a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms throughout the letter. Examples of complex structures include relative clauses ('which is one of the best government-funded universities') and conditional or participial structures. There are, however, several grammatical errors present in the text, such as 'my continue study prevented from interuption' (which contains both a tense/word-form error and a passive voice error) and 'an accommodation' (accommodation is uncountable here). Despite these errors in grammar and punctuation, they rarely impede communication, and the meaning of each sentence remains clear. The control over grammar is generally acceptable for a Band 6.0.

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

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