Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-02
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 Linda,
I hope you are doing splendidly. It's been ages since we've caught up with each other. I was happy after knowing that you are planing to do study in abroad.
As you know I moved in Canada in year 2024. It was good time to come. I got addmission in Toronto University. It is one of the well renowned institution.
I feel blessed to migrant in new world. I have explored variety of things, such as distinct culture, food, festivals. Most important some strict rules and regulations which must be followed a person. This country taught me some real life skills like, independent, daring, risk taker, and how to overcome on your emotions.
Education sysytem is really appreciable. I feel like I took right decision to do my masters. As a reason, this university 's laboratories are equipped with advanced tools. They focus equally on theortical as well as on practical. I got scholership also which was helpful in my next semester' fee. This institution centre provide internships to their students, which assist in getting field job after study.
I can not wait to meet you here. I hope you get addmission in same university.
Best of luck,
Your Friend,
Anju.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt, covering where you studied, what you learnt about the country, and why the year abroad was helpful for your studies. For example, you clearly mention moving to Canada in 2024 and attending Toronto University, and you elaborate on the cultural exposure and practical laboratory facilities. However, some ideas remain under-developed or somewhat generalized, such as the brief mention of rules and regulations or personal skills like being 'daring' and a 'risk taker', which lack sufficient explanation or context. To achieve a higher band, all aspects of the prompt would need to be fully extended and supported with richer details and examples throughout the letter.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a recognizable friendly tone and a clear division into paragraphs for introduction, setting the scene, personal growth, academic benefits, and conclusion. Progression is visible as you move logically from your arrival to cultural learnings and finally to academic advantages. Nevertheless, cohesion at times feels a bit mechanical or abrupt due to limited linking words and slightly disjointed sentence transitions, such as the sudden shift in paragraph four with phrases like 'Education sysytem is really appreciable.' Referencing is generally clear, but improving the flow between sentences using a wider variety of cohesive devices would elevate the organizational quality.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
An adequate range of vocabulary is deployed for the task, allowing you to successfully convey your experiences and opinions. You attempt less common lexical items, such as 'splendidly', 'renowned institution', and 'laboratories are equipped', but these attempts occasionally suffer from word choice, collocation, and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'planing' instead of planning, 'migrant' instead of migrate, and 'theortical' instead of theoretical. Furthermore, terms like 'field job' could be expressed more naturally. While these minor lexical slips do not impede communication, eliminating them and using more precise collocations would secure a higher band score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, reflecting an adequate command of sentence structures. You successfully utilize clauses of reason and purpose, yet there are notable errors in grammar and punctuation. Examples include preposition and article errors such as 'do study in abroad', 'moved in Canada', and 'in year 2024', alongside agreement issues like 'this institution centre provide'. Additionally, certain phrasing like 'how to overcome on your emotions' shows persistent inaccuracies in grammatical patterns. Although these errors rarely impede communication and the reader can easily follow your message, they occur frequently enough to prevent the response from reaching a higher grammatical band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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