Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-11

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 Smita,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to you in response to the experience I had while I was pursuing degree in 'Masters in Business Management' from University of Toronto, Canada. I had a comprehensive 2 year degree course where studying in toronto for developing my practical skills through power point presentation, case discussion was a part of my university course.

Firstly, there are several benefits of studying in a foriegn country such as improving cross-culture communication, interacting with wide range of individuals with differnt mindset. Most importantly trying different cuisine and understanding about local tradition. Although staying away from family is a daunting task, but there benefits outweigh the downsides.

I particularly developed strong inter-personal skills as working with different people in a foriegn country improved my collaborative skills, leadership qualites which was beneficial for my academic growth as well as future career prospects. If you have any further queries please let me know. I am happy to help. Give my love to your Rohan.

Warm regards,

Aryan shetty

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify Toronto, Canada, as the place where you studied and explain that the experience strengthened practical and interpersonal skills, linking these to academic growth and future career prospects. However, the country-learning point is addressed mainly through general benefits of studying abroad—such as trying different cuisine and learning local traditions—rather than specific things you discovered about Canada. The explanation of how the year helped your studies is also somewhat broad: presentations, case discussions and collaboration are mentioned, but their direct effect on your university work could be clearer. Develop these points with concrete examples, and keep the focus on your own experience rather than general claims about studying abroad.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The letter has a recognisable opening, body and closing, and the ideas are grouped into paragraphs. The sequence from your course, to general benefits, to skills gained is understandable. However, the progression is not consistently focused: the second paragraph shifts into broad advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad, which interrupts the account of your own experience. Connect each paragraph more directly to one of the requested points, and use clearer links between the country you studied in, what you learned there, and how this supported your studies. Some transitions, such as “Firstly” and “Most importantly,” feel mechanical, while the final paragraph combines academic benefits, career prospects and personal closing remarks.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of vocabulary for the topic, including “cross-culture communication,” “collaborative skills,” “leadership qualities” and “academic growth.” These choices help communicate the general value of the experience. However, several spelling and word-choice or collocation errors reduce precision, including “foriegn,” “differnt,” “qualites,” and “wide range of individuals with different mindset.” Some expressions are also awkward or overly general, such as “trying different cuisine” and “practical skills through power point presentation.” Aim for accurate spelling and more natural combinations, and choose specific vocabulary that describes what you personally experienced in Canada rather than relying on broad claims.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the contrast in “Although staying away from family is a daunting task, but there benefits outweigh the downsides” and the explanation beginning “as working with different people.” Meaning is generally recoverable, but errors in sentence construction and grammatical patterns are noticeable. For example, “pursuing degree” needs an article, and “from University of Toronto” also needs an article. The “Although … but” construction is not grammatical; use one connector, such as “Although …, the benefits outweigh the downsides.” The long opening sentence is difficult to follow because several ideas are joined without clear structure. Break it into shorter sentences and check articles, agreement and punctuation.

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