Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-24
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 friend's sister,
I trust you must be doing well, i am fine too, i am writing this letter as i know you are willing to study abroad as part of your course. When i was in abroad i studied at Lakshore University which was located in Canada. The exeprience was too good as i love the people around me they were all very friendly. I had learned so many new things while studying there like university has its own swimming classes as well as many more sports activities so you can also join any of them. The year when i was in abroad was really helpful for my studies as at that time it was the starting of the semester so i made more friends and we also help each other in studies we also used to do group studies that would increase your knowledge more about your studies. Hope you also have a lovely experience.
Speak to you soon
Yours Sincerely,
Ayush Bhardwaj
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response covers all three bullet points required in the task instructions. The student clearly states where they studied, mentioning 'Lakshore University which was located in Canada'. They also describe what they learned about the country, noting that 'the experience was too good as i love the people around me they were all very friendly'. Furthermore, the year abroad is explained in terms of its helpfulness for studies, noting group study and starting at the beginning of a semester. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and relies on basic personal recounting. The tone is appropriate for an informal letter to a friend's sister, though the opening salutation 'Dear friend's sister' is overly literal. Overall, the response addresses all parts of the task satisfactorily.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The letter lacks proper paragraphing, as the entire body of the response is written as a single, dense block of text. Cohesive devices are minimal, relying heavily on consecutive 'and' conjunctions and run-on sentences, such as 'When i was in abroad i studied at Lakshore University... and we also help each other in studies we also used to do group studies'. There are also referencing issues with pronoun clarity. While there is a logical progression from the introductory greeting to the location, experiences, study benefits, and closing, the mechanical cohesion and lack of paragraph structure hold this criterion back to a band 5.5.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, but it is repetitive and basic, featuring words like 'good', 'nice', and 'study'. There are minor spelling and word choice errors, such as 'Lakshore' instead of Lakeshore, 'exeprience', and the awkward phrase 'in abroad' instead of 'abroad'. Less common lexical items are largely absent, and some phrases lack precision. Despite these limitations, the vocabulary successfully conveys the intended message without impeding communication, placing the response comfortably within the band 5.5 range.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The text displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but it is heavily impacted by run-on sentences and punctuation errors, specifically comma splices. For instance, the sentence 'I trust you must be doing well, i am fine too, i am writing this letter...' string multiple clauses together incorrectly. Capitalisation is also inconsistent, particularly with the lowercase 'i'. While there are a few correct complex structures, errors in punctuation and grammar are frequent and require some effort from the reader to parse, which is indicative of a band 5.5 performance.
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.