Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-23

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 Gullu,

I am writing this letter to share my experience of studying abroad as a part of university course.

I completed my bachelors in a business management. This is a total five years course including one year of internship, which requires mandatory one year of abroad study experience as a part of the course. Therefore, in the final year of my study, I went to Canada for an academic purpose, particularly in Ontario province, which was already decided by the university.

I learnt several lessons not only study related but also related to the personal life. That one year was full of new experiences and challenges that made me more confident and independent. The country has taught me a lot about their culture, tradition and western life-style. Overall, that one year taught me how to manage academic learning and daily independent living at the same time.

One year of abroad study can help you in your studies in several ways. Firstly, you can mention your abroad learning experience in your resume, which increases your chance for better placement. Secondly, you can get new updates and life-long experience in your student career at a very early age.

I hope that this letter will solve your confusion, and you can ask me any other queries without hesitation.

Looking forward to your response.

Kind regards,

Hardik

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The candidate has successfully addressed all three bullet points of the task instructions. First, the writer specifies the location of their study abroad experience by mentioning Canada, particularly Ontario province. Second, they describe what was learned about the country, highlighting culture, tradition, and western lifestyle alongside personal growth in independence and confidence. Third, the response explains the academic and professional benefits of the year abroad, noting resume enhancement and early career development. The tone is appropriate for a friendly letter to a friend's sister. The ideas are relevant and adequately developed, satisfying the requirements for Band 6.5 to 7.0. Because all parts of the task are clearly addressed and supported with sufficient detail, a band score of 7.0 is well-deserved.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter exhibits a clear, logical overall organisation and progression. The text is divided into appropriate paragraphs, each serving a distinct function such as introduction, location details, personal lessons, academic benefits, and closing remarks. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'Therefore', 'not only... but also', 'Overall', 'Firstly', and 'Secondly', though some transitions feel slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is handled properly, and referencing throughout the text remains clear. While the logical flow is evident, the phrasing of transitions is somewhat standard rather than flexible, fitting comfortably within the Band 6.5 to 7.0 range. A score of 6.5 accurately reflects the clear organisation combined with slightly formulaic cohesive ties.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'mandatory', 'placement', and 'independent living'. However, there are notable lexical and collocational inaccuracies throughout the text. For instance, the phrase 'study related' is hyphenated or phrased incorrectly, 'solve your confusion' is an unnatural collocation compared to 'clear up any confusion', and 'a business management' contains an unnecessary article. Despite these word-choice and collocation errors, communication is never impeded. The lexical range is sufficient for the task and meets the Band 6 criteria, where vocabulary is adequate and allows the message to come across clearly despite noticeable inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as the use of subordinate clauses with 'which requires mandatory one year of abroad study experience' and 'that made me more confident'. There are several grammatical errors present, including 'a part of university course' (missing article), 'bachelors in a business management' (unnecessary article), 'requires mandatory one year of abroad study experience' (article missing), and 'for an academic purpose, particularly in Ontario province' (preposition and article usage issues). Although these errors occur with some frequency, they rarely impede communication. The control of grammar aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors, reflecting a reliable mix of structures alongside noticeable grammatical slips.

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