Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-09

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 6.0)

Dear Puncha,

I hope you are doing well. I'm really happy about you thinking spending a year studying abroad. It's an advance move since you already in university.

I moved to Australia when I was studing my third year in university. It was a student exchange programme. I studied at Adelaide University in South Australia. It is a really good experience for me and people in Adelaide are really helpfull.

I moved to Adelaide around mid May. So it was almost winter season for there and really cold for me since we are living near quator with tropical weather conditions. I learned many things about their culture and history while I was travelling with my supervisor and in university programme.

The student exchange programme was really helpfull for our future studies. I completed half of my final year thesis in there. So I recommend it as a good value programme. Also the knowledge about their development usefull when you start your working career.

I hope you will enjoy the oppertunity and gain more knowledge. We will catch up when we meet next time. Write me back if you have any questions about application process.

best wishes,

Thilan.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three points in the prompt: you identify Adelaide University in South Australia, describe learning about Australian culture and history and the colder climate, and explain that the exchange helped with your thesis and future studies. The letter also has an appropriate friendly tone and gives a recommendation. Some details are less fully developed than others: for example, “many things about their culture and history” is broad, and the link between learning about the country’s development and your future career could be explained more clearly. The response already gives relevant personal examples, but adding one or two specific discoveries and explaining their academic value would make the ideas more fully extended.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter follows a clear overall sequence: an opening, your location and experience, what you learned, the academic benefits, and a friendly closing. Paragraph breaks help the reader follow these stages, and linking expressions such as “So,” “Also,” and “I hope” make relationships between ideas visible. Some connections are a little abrupt or repetitive, however. For instance, “So it was almost winter season for there” moves quickly from the arrival date to the weather, while “So I recommend it” repeats the same linking pattern. Use a wider range of natural transitions and connect each detail more explicitly to the point it supports to make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main information, with relevant terms such as “student exchange programme,” “thesis,” “culture,” and “working career.” However, the range is limited in places, and several word-choice, collocation, word-form, and spelling errors are noticeable. Examples include “advance move,” “helpfull,” “oppertunity,” and “good value programme”; these choices may make the reader pause or interpret your meaning less naturally. Aim for more precise expressions and check spelling carefully. You could also avoid repeating “really” and “good” by choosing vocabulary that describes the experience, people, or academic benefits more specifically.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mixture of simple sentences and some longer structures, and the main message remains clear. There are some grammatical errors, particularly with verb forms, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “I'm really happy about you thinking spending” needs a clearer pattern such as “I’m really happy that you’re thinking about spending”; “you already in university” is missing a verb; and “I completed half of my final year thesis in there” has an awkward prepositional construction. The sentence beginning “So it was almost winter season” also has an unclear grammatical relationship between the clauses. Practise accurate clause patterns and review articles and prepositions while retaining your attempts at varied sentence forms.

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