Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-22

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 Priya,

I am absolutely delighted to hear that you have decided to study your last year of university course in the foreign state.

Firstly, I want to tell you that I also have studied in the same university that you are dreaming to study. As per my experience I would say that England and their people are very rich in case of their cultural values and ethics and they respect each other a lot. I went to oxford university to study history and culture which I found very interesting and I gathered meaningful knowledge about their country. Also, the university is build on lakeshore and very close to the nature and you will defineatly enjoy bed of the nature and the fresh water lake.

Simuntaneously, It was a worthful expereince beacause I stood first in my class after this foreign trip and I hope that you also perform well in your academics, In the last I want you to congratulate and wish you all the best for your future trip and wish you have bright future.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Tarspreet

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all the bullet points outlined in the prompt. You mentioned where you studied by stating, 'I went to oxford university to study history and culture,' described what you learned regarding cultural values and ethics, and explained how the year abroad helped your studies by noting that 'I stood first in my class after this foreign trip.' The tone is generally appropriate for a letter to a friend's sister, maintaining a friendly and encouraging disposition throughout. Although some ideas, such as the description of the lakeshore, could have been expanded further, all requirements of the task have been addressed, earning a solid band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with a clear beginning and ending, correctly following the salutation 'Dear Priya,' and closing appropriately. You used cohesive devices such as 'Firstly,' 'Also,' and 'Simultaneously' to structure your points, though some of these links feel a bit mechanical or unnatural in an informal letter. Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of ideas in the second and third paragraphs is slightly dense and could be broken down further to improve visual and logical progression. Referencing is generally clear, but occasional clunky transitions prevent the response from reaching a higher band score.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, with attempts at less common items such as 'cultural values,' 'ethics,' and 'lakeshore.' However, there are several lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'foreign state' instead of 'foreign country,' 'university is build' (spelling error), and 'worthful expereince' instead of 'worthwhile experience.' Spelling mistakes like 'defineatly,' 'Simuntaneously,' and 'expereince' also occur. Despite these slips, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning without severely impeding communication, placing your lexical resource firmly in the band 6.0 range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You have attempted a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in your grammatical structures. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly with articles, preposition usage, and verb forms. Examples include 'study your last year of university course' (missing article), 'England and their people are very rich in case of their cultural values' (awkward prepositional phrasing), and 'the university is build on lakeshore' (passive voice error). Punctuation issues are also present, such as comma splices and run-on sentences in the final paragraph. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they demonstrate inconsistent control over complex structures.

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

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