Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-05

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 Aj ,

How are you ? i hope you are doing well in your studies

I have call from M Last evening and she was talking about that you have also a requirement like me to go abroad for one year to complete the university course . I'm very happy that you also want to pursue carrier in business management , as this course opens a lot of new way for you in the future . I just want to tell you that i was studied in vancouver's university and it is a one of the most recommand university in canada . No doubt, that i had a strict rules in the university for my classes but in that way they made me more displined and consistent ofr my study . Furtheremore, canada is most vibrant country in the world and most of the people have nice nature to everyone that thing make canada different than other country . On the other hand this Business managment couse assited me a lot to grab my dream job a business reprentative and i also give you best luck for your studies , fell free me to ask anything about in this matter .

Thank you.

Boob.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address all parts of the prompt by mentioning where you studied, describing aspects of the country, and explaining how the year abroad helped your studies. However, the development of these ideas is limited and at times unclear. For instance, when describing what you learned about the country, you mention that 'canada is most vibrant country in the world and most of the people have nice nature to everyone,' which presents a somewhat basic and under-developed idea. Similarly, the explanation of how the year helped your studies touches on becoming more disciplined and securing a job, but these points lack extension. To move to a higher level, you should expand on your points with more specific explanations and examples rather than keeping them brief.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

Your letter shows some organisation, such as attempting to structure the response into a logical sequence covering the required bullet points, but there is no clear overall progression due to the structure being compressed into one large, unbroken paragraph. Cohesive devices are either inadequate or inaccurate; for example, you rely heavily on basic connectors like 'Furtheremore' and 'On the other hand,' and some transitions feel mechanical or misplaced. Additionally, referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'that thing make canada different,' which makes it harder for the reader to follow your flow of ideas smoothly. To improve, you need to use clear paragraphing to separate your main ideas and employ a wider, more natural range of cohesive devices.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You demonstrate a limited but minimally adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'vibrant country' and 'displined'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and word form that cause some difficulty for the reader. For example, 'recommand' should be 'recommended', 'carrier' should be 'career', 'reprentative' should be 'representative', and 'displined' should be 'disciplined'. Furthermore, phrases like 'have nice nature to everyone' are unnatural in collocation. To achieve a higher score, you need to use a wider vocabulary range more accurately and pay closer attention to spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use a limited range of structures, relying mostly on simple sentences alongside a few attempts at complex structures, such as 'I'm very happy that you also want to pursue carrier in business management.' However, these attempts at complex sentences are often faulty, and there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation throughout the text. Noticeable issues include missing or incorrect articles ('a call from M', 'the most vibrant country'), incorrect verb tenses ('i was studied', 'i also give you best luck'), and preposition errors ('studies' instead of 'study'). Punctuation is also problematic, with spaces placed before punctuation marks (e.g., 'How are you ?') and run-on sentences. To improve, you should focus on increasing your grammatical accuracy and mastering basic sentence patterns.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.