Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-12

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 James,

Hi, how are you? I received your letter just yesterday, and I am ecstatic to know that are you are thinking to study abroad for a year.

To be honest, this is going to be the best year of your university program. Actually, I did my exchange year in Canada, and it was a fascinating experience. As I was pursuing Masters in Hospitality, I decided to undertake the second year of study in University of Toronto, which turned out to be the wisest choice.

Meanwhile, I gained deep knowledge about the country including how the work-life practices operate. Apart from this, I was keen on learning the history of that country, and was thrilled to observe the historical artifacts closely. Besides this, I tried to learn about the variety of regional cuisines there, which added to the charm immensely.

In addition to this, the overall year largely assisted me to do better in my further studies. Firstly, the international exposure made me quite confident and broaden my horizons, resulting in deeper understanding of third year studies by creating a strong base. Moreover, I got a one-month apprenticeship there, which introduced me to the practicality of field.

Hope you got an idea.

Warm regards,

Emily.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover all three requested points: you identify the University of Toronto in Canada, describe learning about work-life practices, history and regional food, and explain how international exposure and an apprenticeship supported your studies. These details make the letter relevant and personal. However, the learning and academic benefits are not fully explained: for example, you mention a “deeper understanding of third year studies” without showing what knowledge or skills transferred to your course, and the apprenticeship’s relevance to Hospitality could be clearer. The opening also addresses the recipient as James, although the task identifies her as your friend’s sister; this weakens the sense that the letter is tailored to its intended reader. Develop the examples and clarify the recipient to make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: an opening, a paragraph about your destination and cultural learning, a paragraph on academic benefits, and a friendly closing. The sequence is easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “Apart from this,” “Besides this,” and “Moreover” help signal additions. At times, however, these transitions feel mechanical or repetitive, and “Meanwhile” does not clearly express the relationship between the preceding and following ideas. The final phrase, “Hope you got an idea,” is also vague and does not smoothly lead into the sign-off. Use fewer, more precise connectors and make the links between examples explicit—for instance, explain how the apprenticeship connects to your studies.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You show an adequate range and some flexibility, using expressions such as “fascinating experience,” “international exposure,” “broaden my horizons,” and “historical artifacts.” These choices help convey enthusiasm and give the letter a personal tone. There are also attempts at less common phrasing, but some combinations are not natural or precise: “gained deep knowledge about the country,” “the practicality of field,” and “added to the charm immensely” are awkward or unclear in context. “Work-life practices operate” is also an imprecise way to describe what you learned. Choose collocations that express the intended meaning directly, such as learning about workplace culture or gaining practical experience in hospitality. This would make your vocabulary more accurate and idiomatic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses beginning “As I was pursuing…” and “which turned out to be…”. Most of the message remains understandable, and the errors do not generally obstruct communication. Some grammatical slips are noticeable, however. In “I am ecstatic to know that are you are thinking,” the word order is incorrect and “are” is repeated; write “I am ecstatic to hear that you are thinking…”. In “made me quite confident and broaden my horizons,” the verb forms do not match; use “made me more confident and broadened my horizons.” Articles and prepositions also need attention in “in University of Toronto” and “the practicality of field.” Proofreading these patterns would improve accuracy while preserving your sentence variety.

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

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