Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-17
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 7.5)
Dear Ema,
I heard from your brother that you are thinking about spending a year studying abroad as a part of your university degree. It's an incredible opportunity, and I'd highly recommend it.
I actually did my exchange year at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Living there was an unforgettable experience. During my stay, I learned to much about the country's rich history, its diverse multicultural cities, and it's unique natural landscapes. The people are incredily warm and laid-back, and I quickly adapted to their relaxed lifestyle and community-focused culture.
From an academic perspective, the year abroad was immediately beneficial. The university offered a completely different approach to my major, which allowed me to explore specialized modules that aren't available at our home campus. It also gave me a global perspective on my field of study and helped me build an international network of friends and professors.
If you have any questions about the application process or just want some travel tips, feel free to ask!
Warm regards,
Prapti
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 7.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 7.5 |
| Overall | 7.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5
The response fully satisfies all requirements of the General Training Task 1 prompt. The letter begins with the appropriate salutation ('Dear Ema,') and successfully covers all three bullet points. First, the writer clearly states where she studied by mentioning 'the University of Melbourne in Australia'. Second, she vividly describes what she learned about the country, highlighting its 'rich history', 'diverse multicultural cities', and 'unique natural landscapes'. Third, she explains how the year abroad was helpful for her studies by noting how it provided a 'completely different approach to my major' and allowed her to explore specialized modules. The tone is consistently friendly and encouraging, perfectly fitting the requested informal letter format and purpose. The ideas are well-developed and relevant throughout.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5
The letter exhibits clear logical organization and a natural progression of ideas from opening to closing. Paragraphing is used effectively and appropriately, with each paragraph having a distinct focus: introduction, location and cultural insights, academic benefits, and the closing remarks. Cohesive devices such as 'I actually did', 'During my stay', 'From an academic perspective', and 'It also' are employed smoothly and naturally without feeling mechanical. Referencing throughout the text is clear, ensuring the reader easily follows the narrative and transitions between personal experiences and academic impacts without any confusion.
Lexical Resource — Band 7.0
The student demonstrates a wide, natural, and flexible vocabulary range suitable for an informal yet articulate letter. Appropriate and uncommon items are used skillfully, such as 'multicultural cities', 'natural landscapes', 'community-focused culture', and 'international network'. There are only a couple of minor mechanical slips, specifically the typo 'learned to much' instead of 'learned too much' and the possessive error 'it's unique natural landscapes' instead of 'its'. However, these occasional inaccuracies in spelling and grammar choice do not impede communication and do not overshadow the overall fluent and precise lexical control shown throughout the task.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5
The writer uses a wide variety of sentence structures, seamlessly blending simple and complex forms. Examples of complex structures include conditional clauses ('If you have any questions...') and relative clauses ('...modules that aren't available at our home campus'). The majority of sentences are completely error-free, showcasing very good control of grammar and punctuation. The few minor errors, such as the punctuation slip with 'it's' instead of 'its' and the typo 'incredily' instead of 'incredibly', are isolated instances that do not cause any difficulty for the reader and reflect minor slips rather than systematic weaknesses.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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