Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-13

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 Eva,

I am so pleased to hear about your decision to study braoad, and I'd love to share my experience woth you.

As you know I am currently living in Calgary, Canada, and l enrolled as a full-time student in City University in Canada in one year diploma of Psychology. Honestly, I really enjoyed studying there because the professors are knowledgable and friendly.

My previous Maters' degree in Psychology has provided me with some benefits during my diploma. Surprisingly, a different georgraphical location resulted in different perspectives and approches of counselling. Studying in this country has develpoed many skills such as empathy, understanding, and active listening.

I am planning to do doctrate in Psychology and I required vast information and details about psychology to write my thesis. This one year diploma, from Canada, after my master' degree, from India, has helped me to understand clearly about several topics, diversity, and ensured my enrollmemt in a Canada West University as a PHD scholar.

I won't hesitate to recommend you this diploma from the same university because I would be able to help you a lot in studies and internships.

Don't hesitate to ask further!

Much love!

Simrat

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three bullet points: you identify Calgary and City University, describe learning about different counselling perspectives and skills such as empathy, and explain how the diploma supported your academic plans. The explanation of study benefits is the most developed, especially the link to preparing for a PhD and thesis writing. However, the country-learning point is less fully explained: you mention different perspectives but give no specific example of what you learned about Canada or its culture. The recommendation and offer of help are relevant to the recipient, though they take space from developing that point. Add one concrete observation about studying or living in Canada to make the response more complete and balanced.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: an opening, paragraphs about your studies and learning, an explanation of academic benefits, and a friendly closing. This makes the main message easy to follow. You also use linking expressions such as “As you know,” “Surprisingly,” and “because” to connect ideas. At times, however, the progression becomes less clear, particularly in the long paragraph beginning “I am planning to do doctorate,” where several ideas—thesis research, the diploma, topics, and university enrolment—are packed together. The reference to “this diploma” in the recommendation could also be clearer, since the recipient is considering a year abroad rather than necessarily the same qualification. Separate the academic outcomes and clarify references to improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for education and psychology, including “full-time student,” “perspectives,” “counselling,” “active listening,” and “thesis.” These choices communicate the subject matter and show some willingness to use more specific language. However, spelling errors such as “braoad,” “woth,” “knowledgable,” and “develpoed” are noticeable, and some word combinations are imprecise, including “vast information and details” and “different geographical location.” “Ensured my enrollment” also does not express the intended academic outcome naturally. Check spelling carefully and choose more idiomatic collocations; this will make your meaning more precise while retaining the useful subject-specific vocabulary already present.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the relative clause in “My previous Masters’ degree in Psychology has provided me with some benefits” and the reason clause beginning “because.” Most of the message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors affect accuracy. For example, “I enrolled as a full-time student … in one year diploma” needs a clearer verb pattern and article, while “I am planning to do doctorate” requires an article and a more suitable construction. The sentence about the diploma, master’s degree, and PhD enrolment is also difficult to control because several clauses and phrases are combined. Practise articles, verb patterns, and breaking long sentences into manageable units; keep the range of structures but check each sentence’s grammar.

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