Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-08
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 Suman,
How are you? I hope my letter finds you doing well. It was great to hear that you're planning to study abroad and I would love to assist you with this.
To begin with, I chose Algoma University of Toronto as my previous college had a sponsorship progran with it, and I attended an internship program in the Sheridan Campus for about three months as well. It was fascinating experience to be a part of GTA.
During my stay, I lived near Toronto and its huge in every way, because Canada is well known for its geographical size and infrastructure. However, I was'nt prepared for few things such as weather conditions, and the very first few months were challenging. As now, I have experienced things and I can assure you this place pays your every single minute of hardwork.
Most importantly, there are several benefits I got after studying here, one major point is the credential avlue of the my education is valid across the globe. Another significant factor is the USA visa that I gained after my education and its a great oppoturnity to travel around.
Overall, I definitely recommend you to study in Canada and I'm sure you will laarn alot.
KInd re
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
You address all three requested points: you identify Algoma University in Toronto, describe aspects of life in Canada such as its size and challenging weather, and explain benefits you associate with studying there. The letter also gives a clear recommendation to Suman. However, some points are only partly developed. The description of what you learnt about the country is quite general, and the claim about gaining a US visa does not clearly explain how the year abroad helped your university studies. Add specific cultural or academic observations and explain how the experience improved your subject knowledge, skills, or future study plans. This would make the response more fully focused and developed.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The letter has a clear overall shape: an opening, paragraphs covering the experience and its benefits, and a concluding recommendation. Sequencing phrases such as “To begin with,” “During my stay,” and “Most importantly” help the reader follow the main points. Some connections are less clear, however. The move from describing Canada’s size and weather to saying “this place pays your every single minute” is abrupt, and the paragraph about study benefits shifts to travel without explaining the link. The closing, “KInd re,” is also incomplete. Use clearer transitions to show how each detail relates to the task, and finish with a complete sign-off such as “Kind regards, [Name].”
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use a range of vocabulary relevant to the experience, including “sponsorship program,” “geographical size,” “infrastructure,” “challenging,” and “credential value.” These choices communicate the main ideas, but several spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, such as “progran,” “avlue,” “oppoturnity,” and “laarn.” Some phrases are also unnatural or unclear: “pays your every single minute of hardwork” and “the credential value of the my education is valid across the globe.” Aim for accurate, natural collocations and proofread spelling. For example, you could say that the experience “was worth the effort” and that your qualification “is recognised internationally.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including the clause “as my previous college had a sponsorship program with it” and the contrast introduced by “However.” The main message is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “its huge in every way” needs “it’s,” “I was’nt prepared for few things” needs an article, and “As now, I have experienced things” is not a well-formed time expression. There are also problems with sentence boundaries and punctuation, particularly in the long sentence beginning “During my stay.” Use a wider range of structures while checking articles, apostrophes, agreement, and sentence boundaries to make your meaning more consistently clear.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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