Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Hi Anita,

How are you doing? I hope your sister is doing great as well !!.

I heard that you are going to Canada to finish your last year of master degree in Education?. That is a wonderful news, I am so excited for you. As your sister knows that I did the exact same study in Vancover for a year as part of my unversity course.

Your are going to the New Westminstrer college as well which is great. I wanted to tell you this is the best university for the education stream. During one year of study I learnt alot about Canada example, culture, diversity and lifestyle of people.

I would like to suggest you that make your one year in Canada worth it. Try to explore more about that country. That one year in Canada was very helpful for me to get good grades in my degree. While studying in Canada I had a chance to improve my teaching skills in one of the famous school in Vancover as a part of my practicum. I hope you will get a chance to get to know Canada during your one year studying abroad.

Best of luck !!

With Love,

Rajwinder

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the three main points: you identify Vancouver as your study location, mention learning about Canadian culture and diversity, and explain that the year helped your grades and teaching skills through a practicum. These details make the letter relevant and personal. However, the description of what you learnt about Canada is brief, and the claim that the college is “the best university” is not explained or clearly connected to your experience. The benefit to your studies would be stronger with a specific example of how the practicum or your learning improved your academic work. Develop these points more fully and keep the information clearly focused on advice for Anita.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter follows a generally understandable order: you respond to Anita’s plans, describe your experience, and finish with advice and good wishes. The greeting and sign-off also suit an informal letter. However, the progression between ideas is sometimes abrupt. For example, “Your are going to the New Westminstrer college as well” appears without a clear link to the preceding information, and the shift from learning about Canada to advising her to explore it could be smoother. Paragraphing is limited, and several ideas are crowded together. Use clearer paragraph breaks for your experience, what you learnt, and how the year helped your studies, with linking phrases that show how each point relates to the next.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “study abroad,” “diversity,” “lifestyle,” “teaching skills,” and “practicum,” so the reader can understand the main message. However, the range is limited and some expressions are imprecise or unnatural, such as “finish your last year of master degree,” “the education stream,” and “make your one year in Canada worth it.” Spelling errors, including “Vancover,” “unversity,” and “alot,” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise collocations and check spelling carefully. For example, you could describe the programme as a “master’s degree in education” and say that the experience “broadened my understanding” of the country.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

Your message is mostly understandable, and you attempt some longer sentences, such as explaining that the practicum helped you improve your teaching skills. However, the range of sentence structures is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make parts awkward to read. Examples include “I heard that you are going …?” and “As your sister knows that I did,” where the sentence structures are not formed appropriately. There are also problems with articles and agreement in “a wonderful news” and “one of the famous school,” as well as punctuation, including question marks after statements and “!!.” Practise building accurate complex sentences and check each sentence for a clear subject, verb, and appropriate punctuation.

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