Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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

Begin your letter as follows:
Dear........,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Areya,

Ihope you are doing well. i am writing a letter about the benefits of studing to another country. As you know, i spent my one year in Canada as student of logistics management at the top university of Toronto.And i know you have same feild of study as me,so I referred you to my university.

while studied in Canada ,i learnt many things from the country like i learnt how to mange my finace like how i can spend my money on essential items and hoe i can save for my future, as well as how I became independent by travelling to another places and managing my life .

Moreover, my course provide me with great knowledge about logistics and supply chain like how i can manage my orders and deliver them safely to the customers. Apart from it, i learend how the rule and regulations work while import and export of goods with different modes. overall , this one-year course helped me alot to get a better job opportunity in my life .

i would recommend to you if you want to make you future bright in this feild just think about the this university , and i wish you good luck for your future life.

best regard,

parvs

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three points: you identify Canada and the University of Toronto, describe learning to manage money and become independent, and explain how logistics and supply-chain knowledge could support your career. These relevant details meet the task well. The explanation of what you learnt about the country is less fully developed: the examples focus mainly on personal skills rather than Canadian culture, society, or everyday life. The study benefit is clearer, especially your reference to import and export rules and job opportunities, but it would be stronger with a specific example of how the year abroad improved your university work. The recommendation and good wishes also suit a friendly letter; extending the less-developed points would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable structure, moving from an opening, through your experience and learning, to a recommendation and closing. Paragraphs broadly group related information, and connectors such as “Moreover” and “Apart from it” help signal additions. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear: the first paragraph combines the purpose of writing, your course, and a recommendation, while the second moves between managing money, saving, independence, and travel without clearly linking these ideas. Some transitions feel mechanical, and the final paragraph repeats the recommendation rather than developing the advice. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each example explicitly to the point it supports; this would make the overall organisation easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “logistics management,” “supply chain,” “essential items,” and “import and export.” These terms help make the letter relevant to your studies. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, spelling, and collocation errors reduce precision, such as “studing to another country,” “mange my finace,” and “make you future bright.” Some phrases are also vague or repetitive, including “learnt many things” and “great knowledge.” Aim for more natural expressions and check spelling carefully. For example, you could describe gaining “practical insight into” a subject or learning about “daily life in Canada,” rather than relying on broad phrases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, including a sentence that links learning to manage money with becoming independent. The main message remains understandable, but grammatical control is inconsistent. Examples include “while studied in Canada,” where the clause needs a subject and a suitable verb form, and “my course provide,” where the verb does not agree with its subject. There are also problems with articles and sentence boundaries, as in “at the top university of Toronto.And,” and inconsistent capitalisation of “I.” These errors sometimes make the reader pause, particularly in longer sentences. Practise accurate past-tense clauses and subject–verb agreement, and divide long sentences into clearer units.

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.