Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-17

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 Anjel,

I hope you are doing well. I am extremely happy you want to study abroad as part of her higher programme. I did recently complete my study in foreign country. I will tell you eveything about my study as well as the nation.

I completed culinary course in Westren university, London,Ontario. This is well-known university, and offer numerous programmes every year. It take very less fee as compared to other colleges and unversities. The staff members are very coprative as well as provide practical knowledge related to education.

I learned about the culture and traditions of country. I got vast knowledge about life-style because I met new people everyday who belongs to another nations. Everyone has different views and experience of life.

Getting education from foreign university is very helpful for me because I got better job in my own country. I obtained practical knowledge along with theory. Therefore, I have vast experience relaed to my wor

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three requested points: you identify the place of study as Western University in London, Ontario, describe learning about culture and traditions through meeting people, and explain that practical knowledge helped you obtain a better job at home. These details make the letter relevant and its purpose clear. However, the description of the country remains general, and the explanation of how the year helped your studies is less fully developed: the link to a better job is useful, but you could explain how the experience supported your university coursework or career preparation. The final sentence also ends abruptly, leaving the benefit only partly explained. Add a specific example of what you learned about the country and how it applied to your studies.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: an opening, a paragraph about the university, one about cultural learning, and a final paragraph about the benefits. This helps the reader follow the main points. Basic links such as “because” and “Therefore” show how some ideas relate, and the progression broadly follows the task prompts. However, connections between sentences are sometimes mechanical, and references are not always clear—for example, “as part of her higher programme” shifts to “you” and “I” without a consistent perspective. The final paragraph also stops mid-thought, weakening the ending. Use clearer transitions between the experience and its benefits, maintain consistent pronouns, and finish with a brief closing sentence to make the letter feel complete.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main experience, including “culture and traditions,” “practical knowledge,” and “different views and experience of life.” There are also attempts at more specific language, such as “culinary course” and “university.” However, the range is limited and several spelling or word-choice errors are noticeable, including “Westren,” “eveything,” “coprative,” and “relaed.” Some phrases are also unnatural or imprecise, such as “take very less fee” and “vast knowledge about life-style.” These choices can make the reader pause, even though the main meaning is generally recoverable. Aim for accurate collocations such as “charges lower tuition fees” and “gained insight into local lifestyles,” and proofread spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You communicate the main ideas using mostly simple sentences, with some attempts to connect clauses, as in “Getting education from foreign university is very helpful for me because I got better job in my own country.” However, there are some errors in articles, agreement, and verb forms: “I completed culinary course” needs an article, “This is well-known university, and offer” has an agreement problem, and “people everyday who belongs” does not maintain subject–verb agreement. The opening also shifts awkwardly from “you” to “her.” These errors do not usually prevent understanding, but they reduce accuracy and make some sentences less natural. Practise article use, consistent pronouns, and agreement, while adding a few accurately controlled complex sentences to explain cause and effect.

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