Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-06

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 Gurpreet ,

I hope you are doing well . I am really happy to hear that you are considering spending a year abord as a part of your university study . I would love to share my experience with you .

I spent my 2 year in Ontario Canada ,where I studied Hospitality Mangement at a Sheridan College.It was a great experience because i had a opportunity to meet people of different culture and language as well as i learned about Canada firsthand.

During my stay ,I learnt a lot about country friendliness and multiculural society. I visited different restaurants and cafes where I saw how people seen everyone with same eye. Apparently, I learned about lifestylr , language and culture of this country .

This 2 years was extremely helpful for my studeies . I gained both theortical as well as practical experience . I learned about front desk operation, customer service , teamwork skills. I also about my communication skills as well.

I would deliberately suggest you to take a course in abroad because it will boost your confidence.

Best regards

Aman

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three points: you identify Ontario, Canada, describe its multicultural society and friendliness, and explain that the experience developed practical and theoretical knowledge for your studies. The examples of front-desk operations, customer service and teamwork make the academic benefit relevant. However, some points are only briefly explained. For instance, “people seen everyone with same eye” is unclear, and the description of what you learnt about Canada would be stronger with a specific observation or example. The recommendation to take a course abroad is appropriate, but could be linked more directly to your own experience. Overall, the letter fulfils the task, though some ideas are less fully developed than others.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: an opening, paragraphs about the location and country, a paragraph on study benefits, and a closing recommendation. This makes the main information easy to locate. You also use basic links such as “because,” “as well as” and “During my stay” to connect ideas. At times, however, the progression within paragraphs is less smooth: the sentence about meeting people of different cultures moves quickly to learning about Canada, and “Apparently” does not clearly show the relationship between the ideas that follow. Some references, such as “This 2 years,” are also unclear. Use more precise links and make sure each paragraph develops one main point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “multicultural society,” “practical experience,” “customer service” and “teamwork skills.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and the reader can generally understand your message. However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, including “abord,” “Mangement,” “multiculural” and “lifestylr.” Some expressions are also unnatural or imprecise, such as “people seen everyone with same eye” and “take a course in abroad.” These issues limit the accuracy and flexibility of your vocabulary. Check spelling carefully and learn common collocations for studying overseas, while choosing precise phrases to describe cultural observations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use a mixture of simple sentences and some longer structures, for example, “I am really happy to hear that you are considering…” and “It was a great experience because…”. The overall meaning is usually clear, but some grammatical errors remain. Examples include “I had a opportunity” (article use), “I spent my 2 year” (number and plural agreement), and “I also about my communication skills” (an incomplete clause). There are also inconsistent verb forms in “where I saw how people seen everyone,” and punctuation spacing makes sentence boundaries less controlled. To improve, check articles and singular/plural forms, and ensure every sentence has a complete verb structure.

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