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 Jessica,

It's a long-time-no-see; I am very happy to hear about your opportunity to study overseas for an year. It's going to be a memorable experience for you.

If you ask me, I got the chance to sudy at the Canada's most renowned university, University of Toronto. It is situated near the downtown, which itself is a very happening place.

My tenure of study in Canada taught me various things about the country, culture and people. Firstly, this country is culturally diversified; you will see people from various nations residing here. Secondly, this country is very kind. You have to learn some etiquettes like holding doors, saying "Thanks" and "Sorry" often. And at last, you will learn to manage your finances. This is something that will help you your whole life.

Opting out for this opportunity came out to be very helpful for me due to the cultural exposure I got. My perspectives for certain things broadened which are now helping me in my corporate life.

I wish you a best of luck for your future endeavours. If you need any further help. you know how to find me.

Yours truly,

Jaspreet

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three requested points: you identify the University of Toronto, describe cultural diversity and everyday customs in Canada, and explain that the experience broadened your perspective and helped in your corporate life. The friendly opening and closing also suit a personal letter. The explanation of what you learnt is reasonably specific, especially the examples of holding doors and saying “Thanks” and “Sorry.” However, the academic benefit is less fully explained: connect your broader perspective to a particular skill, subject, or aspect of your university studies. The description of the country could also be extended beyond general observations. This covers the task well overall, with some ideas developed more fully than others.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall sequence: greeting and introduction, study location, lessons about Canada, the benefit to your studies, and a closing. Paragraphing helps the reader follow these stages, and signposts such as “Firstly” and “Secondly” make the list of observations easy to understand. Some linking is a little mechanical, however, particularly the repeated sequencing words and “And at last.” The transition from learning about Canadian customs to managing finances could be smoother, and “If you need any further help. you know how to find me” has a punctuation break that interrupts the closing. Use more natural links between related ideas and ensure each paragraph develops one clear point.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for a personal letter, including relevant expressions such as “culturally diversified,” “cultural exposure,” and “broadened.” These choices help communicate your experience, and the meaning remains clear. There are some inaccurate or unnatural word choices and collocations, though: “an year,” “the Canada's most renowned university,” “tenure of study,” and “Opting out for this opportunity” do not express the intended meanings naturally. “This country is very kind” is also imprecise when describing a society or its people. Check spelling as well, including “sudy,” and choose familiar, accurate phrases where a more ambitious expression is uncertain. Greater precision and natural collocation would strengthen the letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex forms, including “If you ask me” and the relative clause “which itself is a very happening place.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, and the paragraph structure gives you opportunities to vary sentence patterns. Some grammatical and punctuation errors remain. For example, “an year” needs the correct article, and “the Canada's most renowned university” has an incorrect article and possessive construction. In “If you need any further help. you know how to find me,” the full stop should be replaced with a comma or the ideas should be separated into complete sentences. Practise checking articles, sentence boundaries, and punctuation while retaining your attempts at varied structures.

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

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