Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.0 · 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 4.0)
Dear sara,
I am glad to hear that your younger sister is planning to study in the same country and university where i have studied. I am writing to tell you about the university where i have studied and share some experience about my education.
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AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 2.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 3.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 4.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 2.5
The opening establishes a friendly purpose and indicates that you studied at the same country and university your friend’s sister is considering. However, the response does not provide the university’s location, describe anything you learnt about the country, or explain how the experience helped your studies. The phrase “share some experience about my education” only announces that you will give information; it does not fulfil any of these points. The letter is also far below the required 150 words, so there is not enough content to address the task. To improve, develop each bullet point with specific details—for example, a cultural observation and a clear link between your studies abroad and your university course.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 3.5
The response has a recognisable letter opening and a basic progression from greeting to purpose: “I am glad to hear…” is followed by “I am writing to tell you…”. This gives the reader a general sense of why you are writing. However, the letter stops before any supporting information or a closing, so there is no development across paragraphs and the three requested topics are not organised. The large blank spaces and stray symbols also interrupt the presentation. Use separate, purposeful paragraphs for where you studied, what you learnt about the country, and how the year helped your studies, then add a suitable sign-off. Linking phrases such as “One thing I discovered…” and “This was useful because…” would make the progression clearer.
Lexical Resource: Band 4.5
The vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the basic purpose of the letter, with relevant terms such as “university,” “study,” “country,” and “education.” The phrase “planning to study” also conveys the situation clearly. However, the range is very limited because the response contains little detail, and some expressions are not natural or precise: “share some experience about my education” is vague, while “in the same country and university” could be expressed more smoothly. Use specific vocabulary to describe the destination, cultural discoveries, and academic benefits—for example, “local customs,” “teaching methods,” or “broadened my understanding.” Check capitalisation of names and the pronoun “I” as part of careful written presentation.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5
The two main sentences are understandable and show some control of basic structures, including a complex clause in “I am glad to hear that your younger sister is planning…”. The purpose sentence also uses an infinitive construction appropriately: “I am writing to tell you…”. However, the range is narrow, and the repeated present perfect form in “where I have studied” is not suitable for describing a completed year abroad; “where I studied” would be more accurate. The lowercase “i” should be capitalised, and the greeting should use a capital letter for the name. To demonstrate stronger control, vary sentence patterns and use past-tense forms consistently when describing the completed experience.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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