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 Rina,

How are you doing these days? I got to know about your program at York University in Canada from Mira and I am really glad sharing my experience studying recently from the same institution.

I graduated from York University, located in Toronto, Ontario Canada in the year 2025 and was enrolled in Financial planning program. It was completely a fascinating experience for me due to the social and cultural influence of the University as students from all over the world were studying in the same campus.

Canada is rich in culture and a land full of immigrants from every corner of the world, so living in this country gave me full exposure to people with different backgrounds and traditions.

This year of studying and working in Canada made my life completely independent financially and socially. Also, I learned skills such as time-management, punctuality and co-operation which will be helpful for my future career in India.

Hope you see you and Mira soon.

Best regards,

Sehajveer

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three requested points: you identify York University in Toronto, describe Canada’s multicultural population, and explain that the experience developed independence and skills relevant to your future career. These details make the letter relevant and give it a clear personal purpose. The explanation of what you learnt about Canada is the most developed, while the study benefit is less specific: time management and cooperation are useful, but you could explain how they supported your financial-planning studies. The opening also says you studied at the same institution as Rina, although the prompt does not establish that she will attend York. The response covers the task well overall, but more precise, supported detail would make the ideas consistently fuller.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: it opens with a personal greeting, moves through your university experience and observations about Canada, and ends with a friendly closing. Separate paragraphs help the reader follow the three main topics. Some connections between ideas are less smooth, however. For example, “Also” introduces the final paragraph’s benefits in a basic way, and the shift from studying to “studying and working” is not explained. The opening sentence also combines several ideas, making it harder to follow. Use clearer links to show how your observations and new skills relate to your studies, and ensure each paragraph develops one connected point.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for a personal letter, including relevant terms such as “social and cultural influence,” “different backgrounds and traditions,” and “time-management.” These choices communicate your experience clearly, and the tone is generally appropriate. Some expressions are imprecise or do not collocate naturally, such as “glad sharing my experience,” “same campus,” and “full exposure.” “Completely” is also repeated, and “rich in culture” is broad where a more specific description could be effective. Aim for natural phrases that describe your experience precisely, such as “glad to share,” “on the same campus,” and “was exposed to a wide range of cultures.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more developed sentence forms, including the sentence beginning “Canada is rich in culture” and the clause explaining that students came from around the world. The main ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors and awkward constructions are present. For example, “I am really glad sharing” needs an infinitive construction (“glad to share”), while “I graduated … in the year 2025 and was enrolled” creates an unclear relationship between graduation and enrolment. In “Hope you see you and Mira soon,” the subject and verb pattern are incomplete. Check verb forms, sentence structure, and articles, and revise longer sentences so their relationships are clear.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.