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 Kashiv,

I hope you are doing well and are in great spirits! I received your letter and I want to congratulate you first as you moving to abroad for studying. I am writing to share my experience with you that would we helpful for you to shape your living there.

First foremost thing, I have studied in the same univeristy name as "Humber Polytechnical". The campus is in Ontario and I live near Brampton golan drive. I will email you the address and contact of the property dealers which might be helpful for you to find a suitable stay.

The campus study and specially practical sessions would play an important role to shape your knowledge and expertises. I genuienly enjoy and cherish the time I have dedicately use to enhance my knowledge those days. The professors are little strict but really helpful if they find a studend is intrested.

My abroad experience is very beneficial as I now have exposure to several coding languages, networking and cybersecurity. Also these Information Technology trends are really popular nowadays and people earning lucrative income while working in these sectors.

I am really excited that you choose this course and hope you study well and achieve success in upcoming years. I appreciate If any help needed, feel free to reach out to me.

Your Loving,

Jackson

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the letter to Kashiv and include relevant information about your study location, your experience, and its value for your studies. The reference to Humber Polytechnical and Ontario gives a starting point, while coding, networking, and cybersecurity explain some academic benefits. However, the country-learning point is not clearly answered: you describe the campus and professors, but do not explain what you learnt about the country itself, such as its culture, people, or education system. The benefit to your studies is also only partly developed; you mention exposure to technical subjects but do not show how this improved your university work. Develop these two points with specific examples, and make the location clearer by naming the country.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable structure, with an opening, separate body paragraphs, and a friendly closing. The paragraphs broadly group location, campus experience, and academic benefits, so the reader can follow the main topics. Some links between ideas are less clear or feel mechanical, however. For example, “First foremost thing” does not introduce the location naturally, and the shift from describing professors to discussing your current career prospects is abrupt. The offer to send property-dealer contacts also distracts from the requested account of your experience. Use clearer transitions and keep each paragraph focused on one task point; this would make the progression more logical and the connections between ideas easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “practical sessions,” “networking,” “cybersecurity,” and “lucrative income,” which helps communicate your academic experience. There are also attempts at more expressive language, such as “cherish the time,” though some combinations are unnatural or imprecise. Phrases such as “moving to abroad,” “shape your living there,” and “the campus study” may make the reader pause, while spelling errors such as “univeristy,” “genuienly,” and “intrested” are noticeable. Aim for accurate, natural collocations and check spelling carefully. For instance, “study abroad,” “settle in,” and “campus-based learning” would express your intended meanings more clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, and the overall message is generally understandable. However, errors occur frequently in basic sentence patterns and in attempts to combine clauses. For example, “as you moving to abroad” needs a finite verb and a different preposition, while “I want to congratulate you first as you moving” has an unclear clause connection. “I have studied in the same univeristy name as” is also structurally incomplete, and “I appreciate If any help needed” lacks the required clause structure. Review verb forms, articles, prepositions, and sentence boundaries, and practise building accurate complex sentences before adding more detail. These corrections will make your meaning more consistently clear.

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