Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
Dear Ammy,
I have heard from my sister that you are going to study abroad in Canada. I am very excited for you and could not wait to share my experience.
During my study years, I went to Western University for Registered Practical Nursing Program, for 3 years. I was enrolled in the South campass of the university. My campass was at walking distance from my apartment as well as other amentries such as Walmart, Traders' Joe and Hospital.
I have learnt alot of new things before i moved out. I am a foodie person and the first thing I tried in Canada was Poutine, a authentic dish filled with gravey and Potato fries. I would advise you must learn kariokee. We used to play it ebery friday night.
I have gained alot of experience in Medical health including up-to-date tools, advanced robots and new terms. They also introduced us to ancient medical practices. Overall, this new step helped me alot by
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The candidate has attempted all parts of the prompt, but the response is incomplete as it cuts off mid-sentence at the end ("Overall, this new step helped me alot by"). While the writer successfully mentions where they studied ("Western University") and provides some cultural details about the country ("Poutine, a authentic dish"), the incomplete nature of the final point regarding why the year abroad was helpful for studies prevents full task completion. The ideas are relevant to a friendly letter format addressed to 'Ammy', but due to the abrupt ending, the development of the third bullet point is severely compromised. This falls under Band 5, where parts of the task are only partially addressed.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The letter follows a friendly tone with an appropriate salutation ("Dear Ammy,"). Paragraphing is attempted, with distinct blocks for introduction, location, cultural learnings, and academic benefits. However, the logical progression is disrupted by abrupt shifts in topics, such as moving directly from university housing and amenities to local food and karaoke without transitional phrases. Furthermore, the response ends abruptly mid-sentence, lacking a concluding sign-off. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes repetitive. The referencing is mostly clear, but the overall mechanical flow aligns with a Band 5 descriptor.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for a personal letter, featuring terms like "Registered Practical Nursing Program," "amentries," and "foodie person." However, there are several spelling errors throughout the text, including "campass" (campus), "amentries" (amenities), "alot" (a lot), "i" (I), "ebery" (every), and grammatical vocabulary slips like "a authentic dish" instead of "an authentic dish". Less common vocabulary is attempted ("up-to-date tools", "advanced robots"), but overall the lexical control is limited, placing this firmly at Band 5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as "I have heard from my sister that you are going to study abroad..." and "I would advise you must learn kariokee." However, there are frequent errors in capitalization, punctuation, and article usage (e.g., lowercase "i", missing articles before nouns). The most severe issue is the incomplete final sentence, which leaves a grammatical structure dangling. While simple sentences are generally understandable, the presence of frequent errors and the unfinished structure place the performance at Band 5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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