Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-29
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 Susan,
My lovly Sussy ,I hope all is well there for you. In my fond memories ,I met you as a teenager.
Now you are all grown up to start your higher studies. I congratulate on your sucess to attain this course in such a prestigious college like Coventry University,Edinborough.
I have done this course last year in Glasgow University,Peterborough. To give you a vivid explaination about the Msc Sport Physiology course, I will send the course cuuriculum along with this letter. So you might get a overveiw about the course. On the other hand more than academics you will surely enjoy the picturesque province like Edinborough. Which is situated in England.
I am sure you will love the countryside because you are voracious english novel reader.
I believe you will be elated to see those imaginary novel world in real. The rich cultural aspect will drive you the most.I personally learnt a lot regarding English language,etiquittes ,food and diverse people around the world .
A personal note you surely learn alot all by yourself when you study abroard. For me iI built the resilience quality when I studies in abroad. Last but not least go with the flow enjoy your course and keep me posted if you have a doubts regarding curriculam.
Warm wishes,
Ephsy.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The candidate successfully covers all parts of the letter. First, the writer tells Susan where they studied by mentioning Glasgow University, Peterborough (though there are some geographical inaccuracies regarding UK cities, the prompt requirement to state where they studied is fulfilled). Second, they describe what they learnt about the country, highlighting aspects such as the English language, etiquettes, food, and diverse people. Third, they explain how the year abroad was helpful for their studies by mentioning that they built resilience and learned to study independently. The tone is appropriately informal and friendly for a general training letter, and the purpose of the letter is clearly conveyed throughout, aligning well with Band 6 descriptors.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The letter exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with paragraphs used to separate different thoughts, such as the introduction of the course, details about the university experience, and personal reflections. However, paragraphing is somewhat unconventional, and cohesive devices are occasionally faulty, mechanical, or missing. For instance, transitions like 'On the other hand' are used inappropriately given the context, and sentences such as 'Which is situated in England' are improperly fragmented. Referencing is also slightly unclear in places. Overall, the organization shows logical intent, but cohesion requires more accurate management, corresponding to a Band 5.5 or solid Band 6 performance.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student attempts a range of vocabulary suitable for a personal letter, including terms like 'prestigious', 'vivid explaination', 'picturesque province', 'voracious', and 'resilience'. However, there are numerous spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, such as 'lovly', 'Sussy', 'sucess', 'cuuriculum', 'overveiw', 'etiquittes', and 'abroard'. While these inaccuracies do not completely impede communication because the context remains clear, they restrict the lexical score. The candidate demonstrates an adequate range for the task with attempts at less common vocabulary, but spelling and precision issues firmly place this at Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some ambition with relative clauses ('Which is situated in England') and conditional structures. However, grammatical control is weak, with frequent errors in punctuation, capitalization, and sentence boundaries. Examples include comma splices and fragments ('My lovly Sussy ,I hope...', 'For me iI built the resilience quality when I studies in abroad'). There are also agreement and tense inconsistencies, such as 'I have done this course last year'. These errors frequently cause distraction for the reader, though they rarely distort the overall meaning entirely, aligning closely with Band 5 descriptors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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