Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-10

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 Tina,

I hope you are well. Recently I came to k ow that you are looking to go to abroad for your higher studies. In my opinion, you are making a great choic for your upcoming future.

I, actually, completed my studies from Fleming college, Toronto and It wasn't too far from my accomodation. It was a 2 and half years of program of Global business management. I still remeber that I used travel in TTC bus service to get there.

In regards of my studies, I chose to go with business management since I have Master's in business administration. It took me 2 years to finish my course which was right on the time. I was offered to take a break for 4 months. However, I didn't want to intrrupt my time table. I would recommed the same

Those two years were best years of my life because I got to know about different culture style, which was part of the curriculum, just to get used to of various business environment. In much the same way, taking part in different seminars assisted me to improve the horizon of my knowledge. Therefore, I recommed you to give your 100%, which it comes to doing something out of the box, to enhance your skill set and to test your inner strength.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Your sincerely,

Ritesh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The letter gives some relevant personal information and advice, but it only partially fulfils the three requested points. You identify Fleming College in Toronto, yet the account focuses on your course duration, accommodation and bus journey rather than clearly describing the year abroad. The country-learning point is touched on through “different culture style” and business environments, but it remains general and does not explain what you learned about the country itself. The benefit to your studies is also unclear: seminars and a broader “horizon of my knowledge” are mentioned, but the connection to your university studies needs a specific example. Develop each bullet directly, especially what you learned about Canada and how that knowledge supported your course.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable letter format, with a greeting, paragraphs and a closing, and the ideas are grouped into broad topics. However, the overall progression is not consistently clear: the paragraph beginning “In regards of my studies” shifts to your previous qualifications and course timetable, which does not clearly advance the requested account of your year abroad. Linking phrases such as “However,” “Those two years” and “Therefore” are used, but some connections feel mechanical or do not show the precise relationship between ideas. The final advice also moves away from describing your experience. Organise the body around the three requested points and use clear references to connect each example to the relevant point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of topic-related vocabulary, including “Global business management,” “curriculum,” “seminars” and “business environment,” and the main message is generally understandable. There are also attempts at more expressive phrasing, such as “test your inner strength” and “out of the box.” However, several word-choice, collocation and spelling problems make the language less natural, including “go to abroad,” “different culture style,” “improve the horizon of my knowledge” and “recommed.” Some phrases are vague or do not convey the intended meaning precisely. Aim for accurate, natural combinations such as “study abroad,” “learn about Canadian culture” and “broaden my knowledge,” and proofread spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The letter includes both simple sentences and attempts at longer structures, for example “Those two years were best years of my life because…” and “However, I didn't want to…”. Meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in sentence construction and grammatical forms occur across the response. Examples include “I used travel” instead of “I used to travel,” “It was a 2 and half years of program,” and the incomplete sentence “I would recommend the same.” The closing “Your sincerely” also shows an error in the possessive form. Some sentences combine several ideas without clear grammatical links, particularly the final long sentence. Practise complete sentence patterns, articles, verb forms and punctuation, then check each sentence for a clear subject and main verb.

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