Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-28

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 Alice,

Hope you're doing great!

I recently came to know from your sister that you are planning to go abroad to pursue your studies. Well, I must share my experience with you then. Studying in Australia, Perth was one of my bestest decisions that I have ever made because I really gain a lot of theoretical and practical knowledge throught the course. I spent almost two years in Australia and it was an amazing experience for me.

I have learnt alot of positive things from the country such as people of this country as quite friendly and helpful. Even I was blessed with suportive neighbours that were always ready to offer a helping hand whenever I faced any problem.

I think my year abroad was helpful because at that year received scholarship opprotunity too based on my academic performance. I really feel very lucky that I got the opportunity to complete my masters there.

I wish you all the very best for your future, and you will also receive the scholarship offeer if you perform well in your studies.

Yours loving,

Devida

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The candidate successfully covers all the required bullet points of the task prompt. You state where you studied by mentioning Australia, Perth, describe what you learned about the country (that people are friendly and helpful with supportive neighbours), and explain why the year abroad was helpful for your studies by mentioning the scholarship opportunity and academic completion. The tone of the letter is appropriate for a friend's sister, maintaining a friendly and informal register throughout. However, there is a slight contradiction regarding the duration of stay, as the prompt specifies a year abroad, but you mention spending almost two years. Despite this minor detail, all parts of the task are adequately addressed and well-developed, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.5 to 7.0 range. You have maintained a clear purpose and communicated your experiences effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter follows a clear logical organisation and progression from the greeting to the conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate different ideas, such as introducing the experience, describing the cultural learning, and discussing the academic benefits. Cohesive devices are employed, although some transitions feel a bit basic or mechanical, such as 'Well, I must share my experience with you then' and 'Even I was blessed'. Referencing is generally clear, though the flow between sentences could be smoother in places. The sign-off 'Yours loving' is slightly unnatural for standard letter writing conventions. Overall, the structural progression is logical and easy to follow, supporting a solid Band 6.0 performance.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'theoretical and practical knowledge', 'academic performance', and 'supportive neighbours'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text. Examples include 'bestest' (which should be 'best'), 'throught' (spelling of 'through'), 'alot' (spelling of 'a lot'), 'suportive' (spelling of 'supportive'), 'opprotunity' (spelling of 'opportunity'), and 'offeer' (spelling of 'offer'). Additionally, saying 'Studying in Australia, Perth' is slightly unnatural phrasing compared to 'Studying in Perth, Australia'. These lexical and spelling inaccuracies occasionally detract from the reading experience, placing the response firmly at Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as using relative clauses ('that were always ready to offer a helping hand') and subordinate clauses ('because I really gain a lot'). However, there are several grammatical errors and tense inconsistencies. For instance, you mix past and present tenses inappropriately: 'Studying in Perth was one of my bestest decisions that I have ever made because I really gain [gained] a lot', and 'I have learnt alot... as [are] quite friendly'. Furthermore, phrases like 'at that year received scholarship opprotunity too' suffer from missing articles and prepositions. While these errors do not completely impede communication, their frequency prevents the response from reaching higher bands.

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

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