Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-18

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 Amit,

I hope you are doing well. I was really pleased to hear that you are considerning spending a year abroad as part of your university course. Since I had a similar experience recently i'd be happy to tell you about it.

I spend my year at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Where I studied business management. It was an unforgettable experience, not only academically but also personally. Living there taught me a great deal about Australian cultural, Particularly the relaxed lifestyle, multicultural society and the importance people place on outdoor activities. I also became much more independent and confident when communicating with people from different backgrounds.

Most improtanbtly, the year abroad was extremely beneficial to my studies. I was exposed to different teaching methods and had the opportunity to work on projects with international students. This broadened my perspective and helped me develop better reserch, teamwork and presention skills.

Best wishes

Jyoti

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The candidate successfully covers all bullet points required in the task prompt. First, the writer correctly addresses the recipient as a friend's sister by mentioning 'I spend my year at the University of Melbourne in Australia.' Second, she describes what she learned about the country, highlighting 'the relaxed lifestyle, multicultural society and the importance people place on outdoor activities.' Finally, she clearly explains how the year abroad was beneficial for her studies by noting that she was 'exposed to different teaching methods' and developed 'better research, teamwork and presentation skills.' All parts of the prompt are fully and appropriately addressed in a friendly, semi-formal tone suitable for a letter to an acquaintance, fulfilling the requirements for a Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organised with a clear overarching progression from opening greetings to location details, cultural reflections, academic benefits, and closing wishes. Paragraphing is utilised effectively, with each body paragraph dedicated to a distinct theme—first the location and cultural insights, and second the academic advantages. Cohesive devices such as 'not only academically but also personally', 'Living there', and 'Most importantly' are deployed effectively to guide the reader through the text. Although referencing is occasionally slightly loose, such as the sentence fragment 'Where I studied business management.', the overall logical arrangement and clear flow secure a solid Band 7.0 for this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate and generally appropriate range of vocabulary for the task. Less common lexical items are attempted with some success, such as 'unforgettable experience', 'multicultural society', 'independent and confident', and 'beneficial to my studies'. However, there are a few spelling and word-choice errors, including 'considerning' instead of considering, 'cultural' instead of culture, 'Particularly' with an unintended capital letter, and 'improtanbtly' along with 'reserch' and 'presention'. These minor slips do not impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to a Band 6.5 because they demonstrate occasional inaccuracies in word choice and spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The writer uses a good mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over relative clauses and participial phrases, as seen in sentences like 'I was exposed to different teaching methods and had the opportunity to work on projects with international students.' There are frequent error-free sentences, alongside a few minor punctuation and grammatical errors such as the sentence fragment 'Where I studied business management.', lowercase 'i' in 'i'd', and missing commas. Despite these minor lapses, the overall grammatical control is good, and the majority of complex structures are successfully formed, warranting a Band 7.0.

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