Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-14

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 Julie,

Hope you are doing well, by God's grace. I heard from Kayla recently that you have shown profound interest in pursuing a higher degree in London. I got so excited to hear this, and let me share some of my experiences so they can guide you with some ideas.

I studied for my degree at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. I was in a 3+1 training programme, where in the last year one could choose London universities as an option. One of the reasons I chose this place is that they have a wide variety of courses that we could choose to study. The cost of living in this country is much cheaper compared to other surrounding university offers. This place has a good amount of facilities as well, such as banks, a small town where you would enjoy local groceries, which are cheap as well for student budgets, and the buildings are ancient and historic, where many great people graduated, such as Abraham Lincoln to name a few. It was so helpful to me that this degree is also recognised back in our country as well. I hope that this information provides you with a glimpse of spending the year studying abroad. Please do not hesitate to ask me if you have doubts or questions in your mind.

Sincerely

aruvi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The letter gives a clear account of studying at the University of Glasgow and includes relevant observations about Scotland, such as its historic buildings and student facilities. It also explains that the qualification is recognised at home. However, the task’s three points are not all addressed clearly or fully. The description of what you learnt about the country is mostly a list of facilities and cost, rather than a developed account of the country or its culture. More importantly, the benefit to your studies is only briefly suggested through recognition of the degree; explain how the experience improved your subject knowledge, academic skills, or perspective. The opening also misstates her plan as pursuing a higher degree in London, rather than a year abroad as part of her course.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The letter follows a broadly understandable order: it introduces the reason for writing, describes the university and location, and ends with an offer to answer questions. The greeting and sign-off also suit a personal letter. However, most of the information is packed into one long paragraph, so the shift from choosing the university to describing the country and explaining academic benefits is not clearly signposted. Some links are awkward or unclear, particularly “One of the reasons I chose this place” followed by “they,” and “This place” without a precise reference. Use separate paragraphs for the study location, what you learnt about the country, and the academic value, with clear transitions between them.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for a personal letter, including phrases such as “profound interest,” “wide variety of courses,” “cost of living,” and “recognised back in our country.” These choices communicate the main ideas, and the tone is generally friendly. There are, however, several imprecise or unnatural expressions that reduce fluency: “pursuing a higher degree” does not match the stated year-abroad plan, “surrounding university offers” is unclear, and “a good amount of facilities” is not a natural collocation. “A small town where you would enjoy local groceries” also does not clearly express what the town offers. Choose more precise phrases and check collocations so the reader can understand the intended details without having to infer them.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response includes both simple sentences and attempts at more complex structures, such as “One of the reasons I chose this place is that…” and the clause beginning “where in the last year…”. Most of the message remains understandable, and errors rarely prevent communication. Some grammatical choices are nevertheless inaccurate or awkward. For example, “I studied for my degree at” would be clearer as “I studied at,” while “where in the last year one could choose” has an unclear relative reference and shifts into an impersonal construction. In “the buildings are ancient and historic, where many great people graduated,” the relative clause does not attach logically to “buildings.” Review clause structure and reference, and use consistent, direct sentence patterns when explaining the programme and its benefits.

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