Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-19

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 Harleen,

I received your letter last week and I hope you're in the pink of health! i'm glad your younger sister is interested to enroll in the same university where I studied. When I was in Canada I studied at Canadore college that is located in Brampton. The location of college is perfect with a beautifull view.

Canada is diverse country with rich in cultural values. I learned the polite way of communication from the canadians. They're very helpful and welcoming. I had a great experience here to study in Canada.

Although I was new in this country, I got good friends in my university. It was a home far away from home for me. It's an oppornutnity for me to become more stronger and independent. I learned how to adjust in every situation. I'm still here in Canada to help your sister if she require anything from my side.

I hope she will enjoy her studies here.

Yours friend,

simran

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response successfully covers all three bullet points required by the task prompt. First, the writer tells the friend's sister where they studied by mentioning Canadore College in Brampton, Canada. Second, they describe what was learned about the country, highlighting Canada as a diverse nation with rich cultural values and polite, welcoming people. Third, the writer explains how the year abroad was helpful for their studies, noting that it helped them become stronger, more independent, and better at adjusting to new situations. The tone is appropriate for an informal letter to a friend, and the main ideas are relevant and adequately developed to meet the requirements of the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter exhibits a clear and logical organisation. It begins with an appropriate greeting, moves through the required points across three body paragraphs, and concludes with a friendly sign-off. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate different ideas, such as location, cultural observations, and personal growth. Cohesive devices are generally handled well, using transition words like 'Although' and appropriate referencing pronouns like 'They' and 'It'. However, referencing is occasionally a bit mechanical or imprecise, such as 'The location of college is perfect' missing an article. Overall, the message flows smoothly and is easy for the reader to follow from start to finish.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a general task. There are successful attempts at less common and appropriate phrases, such as 'diverse country', 'cultural values', and 'home far away from home'. However, there are some noticeable vocabulary and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'oppornutnity' instead of 'opportunity', missing articles like 'the college', and the non-standard idiom 'in the pink of health' which sounds slightly unnatural in this context. Despite these occasional slips and spelling errors, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning clearly without impeding communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures such as 'When I was in Canada I studied at...' and 'Although I was new in this country, I got good friends...'. There are several grammatical errors and punctuation slips throughout the text, including lowercase capitalization at the beginning of 'i'm', missing prepositions or articles, and a spelling mistake. However, the majority of the simple sentences are accurate, and the complex structures do not impede overall communication. The punctuation is generally functional, though formatting and capitalization need more attention.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.