Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-21
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 5.5)
Dear sis,
I feel so glad as you are thinking to take part in university in abroad. I think this is a wise idea ever because of having a great experience of international education. Infcat, I would recommend to you choose your relevant program in yorkville university where I have done my degree specialization in Project management becasue of having incredible faculty and major opportunities in gaining experience of extra curriculam activities as well as having on campus job opportunities. Moreover, As I studied about project managment I had learnt so many advanced skill how I can be a good project manager, plus it also provides flexible and easy process of getting addmission and then choosing your relevant program. it is quite easy to manage any issue you have related finance or courses something.
I hope I have covered all the major things which I really want you to know about abroad education. so it makes easier for you to take decision and you would be excited after reading all of this stuff of my university. All the very best.
Again best wishes,
narinder kaur
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The student addresses all parts of the prompt, successfully telling the reader where she studied (Yorkville University), describing what she learned about the country/program (project management skills, faculty, extracurriculars), and explaining why it was helpful (flexible admissions, job opportunities, financial support). The tone is appropriate for a friendly letter, beginning with 'Dear sis,' as requested, though the register could be slightly more natural. The ideas are relevant and generally developed, fulfilling the bullet points adequately. While some points are slightly repetitive or brief, the requirements of the task are met well.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The letter exhibits a basic, logical organization with a clear opening and closing. However, paragraphing is weak; the main body of the letter is compressed into a single, overly dense block of text, which hinders readability and flow. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'plus', and 'so' are used to connect ideas, but their overuse and repetitive placement result in a somewhat mechanical structure. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the dangling phrase 'courses something'. Better paragraph separation for different ideas would significantly improve the overall cohesion and progression of the writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, though it lacks flexibility and precision. The student attempts some less common vocabulary items like 'specialization', 'extracurricular activities', and 'faculty', but also displays frequent spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'Infcat' instead of 'in fact', 'addmission' instead of 'admission', and 'managment' instead of 'management'. Phrasing like 'thinking to take part in university in abroad' is unnatural. These lexical slips and awkward collocations do not completely impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to a solid Band 5.5 or 6.0 level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting longer sentences with conjunctions and relative clauses. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation issues throughout the text. Examples include missing prepositions or incorrect articles ('university in abroad' instead of 'university abroad', 'choose to you choose'), spelling mistakes, and run-on sentences ('plus it also provides flexible... and then choosing... it is quite easy to manage...'). While communication is generally maintained despite these errors, the high frequency of inaccurate complex structures prevents the score from reaching Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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