Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-16

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 6.0)

Dear Jane,

How are you today, hope you are fine? I'm writing in respect to your request regarding my experience abroad.

My study abroad was a memorable one, some of my friends studied in US but i choose to study in canada due to the imformation i gathered from advert, that is one of the best in the world in medicine and surgery.

In canada, life was easier compare to our country Nigeria, where of cost of living is teething issue, there life is worth iving than expected, every single minute count.one of things that surprises me was the countrys' food bank, with this policy n individual can go hungry weather old or young, periodically, every month a braodcast will be made on television that a food will be on a particular day.

During my one year stay abroad, the food bank policy was really a big sustainance to because at a point where there was nothing for me as a student, there will be an annoucement informing us about a food bank display in particular date that you should come to get things that would carry u till the next month of display, among others this policy was helpful to me.

I wish you the best of stay Abroad, congratutions once more,

Your sisters' friend,

James.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all parts of the prompt well. You clearly stated where you studied ('canada'), described what you learned about the country ('life was easier compare to our country Nigeria' and the 'food bank' system), and explained how it was helpful for your studies ('was really a big sustainance to because at a point where there was nothing for me as a student'). The tone is appropriately informal and friendly for a letter to a friend's sister, maintaining a consistent purpose throughout. Although some ideas like the food bank are elaborated quite naturally, minor details could be extended further for a higher band. Overall, the task is fully addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organised into clear paragraphs with an opening greeting and closing. Ideas flow with a logical progression, moving from the choice of country to daily life and specific support systems. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, the use of comma splices (e.g., 'courses in medicine and surgery, that is one of the best...', 'life was easier compare to our country Nigeria, where of cost of living is teething issue, there life is worth iving than expected') weakens the sentence-to-sentence connection. Paragraphing is present, but referencing and transitional phrases require better management to achieve a higher score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, though it contains some spelling errors and awkward word choices, such as 'imformation', 'sustainance', 'annoucement', and 'congratutions'. You attempt some less common vocabulary ('memorable', 'teething issue', 'sustainance'), but inaccuracies in spelling and collocation occasionally impede clarity (e.g., 'braodcast will be made' or 'carry u till the next month'). The range is sufficient to convey the main message, but lacks the precision and flexibility expected at Band 7.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There is a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but punctuation and grammatical control show frequent errors. Run-on sentences and comma splices are common throughout the text, such as 'How are you today, hope you are fine?' and 'In canada, life was easier compare to our country Nigeria, where of cost of living is teething issue, there life is worth iving than expected.' Subject-verb agreement and article usage also need attention (e.g., 'the countrys' food bank', 'n individual can go hungry'). While communication is maintained, these frequent errors prevent the score from reaching Band 6.

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

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