Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-07

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 6.5)

Dear Sohana,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to inform you about my studying experience abroad from 2018 to 2019.

Firstly, I want to tell you about my University where I spent one year studying public health, as a part of my major course. It was Well's University, London, a prestigious institute in the heart of the city.

Secondly, I am sharing my experiences about the country while I was residing there during my course. It was very cold there throughout the year. People were very friendly and polite, and they helped me in every difficult situation. Overall, it was a great experience. In addition, accommodation is cheap but you will have to book it before hand.

Lastly, I want to explain that my plan to study abroad was helpful for my studies in long-term. Professors at London University taught me cutting edge advancements which proved fruitful for my practical field.

If you have any further queries, let me know.

Best regards,

Zubair.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three points and maintain an appropriate, friendly letter tone. The location and course are clear in “Well's University, London” and “public health,” while the comments about the cold weather and friendly people give some insight into the country. You also explain that the teaching introduced “cutting edge advancements” useful in your practical field. However, the country description is brief, and the study benefit is asserted rather than illustrated: a specific skill, subject, or example of how the teaching supported your university work would develop it. The accommodation advice is useful but not requested, so give more space to the three required points. This covers the task, with some ideas less fully developed than others.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter is easy to follow, with a clear opening, three body sections, and an appropriate closing. “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “Lastly” make the sequence of the required points explicit, and the ideas progress from the university to life in the country and then academic benefits. This is a clear overall structure. However, the repeated numbered transitions make the organisation somewhat mechanical, and “In addition” introduces accommodation advice without connecting it closely to the main description. You could use more natural links, such as “As for daily life,” and group related details within paragraphs. The final invitation for questions and sign-off complete the letter effectively.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the topic and includes some more specific expressions, such as “prestigious institute,” “public health,” and “cutting edge advancements.” These choices help communicate the university setting and academic benefit. There are, however, several imprecise or unnatural phrases: “my studying experience abroad” is less idiomatic than “my experience studying abroad,” and “helpful for my studies in long-term” does not express the idea naturally. “Accommodation is cheap” is also broad and could be made more precise. These choices do not prevent understanding, but they limit flexibility and precision. Aim for natural collocations and vocabulary that conveys exactly what you learnt and how it helped your studies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple sentences and more developed structures, including “People were very friendly and polite, and they helped me in every difficult situation.” Most of the message is understandable, and the past tense is generally appropriate when describing your year abroad. Some grammatical inaccuracies remain, however. In “my University where I spent one year studying,” the relative clause is not smoothly attached to the preceding sentence, and “my plan to study abroad was helpful for my studies in long-term” has an awkward grammatical construction. The shift to “accommodation is cheap” and “you will have to book it” also moves from past experience to present advice without a clear transition. Use more controlled clause structures and check tense consistency.

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