Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-03

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 jessica,

I hope you're doing great. I know you are planning to study abroad for your higher studies. |I am very delighted and proud of you.

I have graduated from waterloo university in Canada,which is the most well known university among undergraduates. It has numerous of courses avaible to select from according to your interest. Therefore, it would be a great opprortunity for you to grow in your desired field of studies.

This country helped me to to grow as a professionalby instilling skills such as independence, communication skills,self-reliance which is significant part in shaping my future.

My plan to study abroad was a right choice for me because i gained a job in my desired sector in information technology in well-known company Google, which was my dream job.

So, i am wishing you a luck. I hope you will also be selected in the same university.

Best Wishes,

Khushpreet

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You have addressed all parts of the prompt, as you told Jessica where you studied in Canada, described what you learned, and explained why the year abroad helped your studies and career. However, some of these ideas are under-developed or lack sufficient depth. For instance, your description of what you learned about the country is brief and general, focusing mainly on personal attributes like independence and self-reliance rather than cultural or academic insights. Similarly, the explanation of how it helped your studies could be expanded with more specific examples from your university coursework. To move up to a higher band, you need to ensure that every bullet point is fully extended and supported with relevant details and richer elaboration.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

Your letter shows a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical letter format with an appropriate greeting and sign-off. However, the progression between sentences and paragraphs is at times mechanical and lacks smooth transitions. For instance, the transition between discussing university courses in the second paragraph and shifting to professional growth in the third paragraph feels abrupt. Furthermore, cohesive devices are sometimes basic or repetitive, such as the frequent use of simple connectors like 'and' or 'therefore'. To achieve a higher score, you should work on using a wider variety of cohesive ties more flexibly and ensure that the links between your ideas create a clearer, more natural flow throughout the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases such as 'instilling skills' and 'desired sector'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and spelling mistakes that affect precision, such as 'avaible' instead of 'available', 'opprortunity' instead of 'opportunity', and 'professionalby' lacking a space. Additionally, some collocations are awkward, such as saying 'for my higher studies' instead of 'for your undergraduate degree' or 'higher education'. To reach the next band, you need to expand your control of less common lexical items, ensure correct word formation, and eliminate spelling slips so that your vocabulary is both precise and accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and some attempt at complex sentence forms, such as your use of relative clauses like 'which is the most well known university' and 'which was my dream job'. However, there are frequent errors in grammar, punctuation, and article usage throughout the text. Examples include missing articles ('in well-known company Google'), punctuation issues with commas ('Canada,which'), and awkward phrasing like 'was a right choice' instead of 'the right choice'. Furthermore, preposition usage is sometimes faulty, as seen in 'desired sector in information technology in well-known company'. To improve your grammar score, you should aim for greater accuracy in your sentence structures and pay closer attention to articles, punctuation, and prepositions.

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

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