Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)

Dear yougest sister i know that you are thinking about studying abroad as i do.Firstly i was a student if Punjab university lahore then my friend advise me to leave it and go abroad for complete degree so i becomes agree and left my last smester on punjab and went out in united kingdom for complition of my degree.

I relise after come here that educational system of this country is mostly higher than Pakistan and it provide knowledge as well as practicle skills that are demanded all over the world.I am vary glade on my design because after taking it i become able to collect comprehensive knowledge But i pressure it would not be easy for a girl because i faced many difficulties first that you could not bear So i offer you to stay your current school and complete degree from there.It would be better for you.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You attempt to cover the three requested points: you identify Punjab University in Lahore and the United Kingdom, comment on the UK’s education system, and say the experience gave you knowledge and practical skills. However, the account is difficult to follow and does not clearly explain what you learnt about the country beyond education. The final advice to stay at her current university also shifts the focus away from describing your own experience and is not supported with enough explanation. The letter is also one word below the required minimum. To make the response more complete, clearly state where you studied, add a specific observation about life or culture in that country, and explain directly how the experience helped your university studies.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic sequence from your decision to study abroad, to what you observed, and then to advice for the reader. Connectors such as “Firstly,” “after,” and “because” show an attempt to link ideas. However, the response is presented as one dense paragraph, and the long opening sentence combines several events without clear boundaries. The shift from describing your benefits to warning that the experience may be difficult for a girl is abrupt, and “first that you could not bear” is unclear. Use separate paragraphs for your location and experience, what you learnt, and how it helped your studies; shorter sentences and clearer references would make the progression easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “educational system,” “practical skills,” “demanded all over the world,” and “comprehensive knowledge.” These choices show an attempt to discuss education rather than relying only on very basic words. However, spelling and word-choice errors are frequent enough to make parts of the letter difficult to understand, for example “yougest,” “relise,” “vary glade,” and “pressure it would not be easy.” Some phrases are also unnatural, such as “complete degree” and “collect comprehensive knowledge.” Check spelling carefully and learn common collocations for studying abroad, such as “complete my degree” and “gain knowledge.” More precise vocabulary would help you express your experience and advice clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt to use longer sentences and subordinate clauses, for example “I realise after come here that…” and “because after taking it…,” but these structures are often faulty. Verb forms and tense are inconsistent: “I was a student,” “my friend advise,” and “I becomes agree” do not form a clear, accurate account of past events. There are also problems with articles, prepositions, and sentence boundaries, as in “in united kingdom” and the run-on opening sentence. These errors sometimes make the meaning hard to follow. Practise writing short, accurate past-tense sentences first, then combine them with correctly formed clauses. Use full stops and capital letters to separate ideas and check subject–verb agreement.

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