Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-18

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 Pinki

I am feeling very happy to know about you that you are planning to come canada and wants to do further study in very well known university in which i studied.

I have been here since a very long time like almost 5 years. I completed by bachelor in Gujarat and i moved here in 2021 for my studies. I moved in Edmonton and enrolled in Macewan University for my post graduate diploma in Business Analysis. This university is one of the best and top ranked university in whole Alberta province. I studied for 2 years here in Macewan university and finished with very good score.

I think you are taking one of the best decision of choosing canada for your further studies and future better opportunites for job. Canada is one of the best country to live in. I have seen different people from different countries and enjoy and learn about various cultures as well. Moreover, Here you can feel almost zero crime and best air quality and like zero pollution. People's safety is one of the main priority of this country.

Additionally, I live here since very long time but when i came here i was little bit nervous and i did not have any kind of knowledge how will i servive and i concerned about my study but here when i talked with folks i get to know about their behaviour and their life style which eventually help me in my studies as well. when you will move here you will connect with different person and learn a lot of new things which will assist you in studies and in your life as well.

I am looking forward to seen you soon. Happy and safe journey.

Yours faithfully,

Kishan

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three requested points: you identify MacEwan University in Edmonton, describe aspects of Canadian life and culture, and explain that meeting people and learning about their lifestyles helped your studies. The letter is relevant and gives the reader a clear sense of your experience. However, the account of what you learnt about Canada is more developed than the explanation of how the year abroad specifically supported your academic work; this remains fairly general in “help in my studies.” Also, the opening suggests the recipient is coming to Canada, rather than asking about a year abroad as part of her course. To strengthen the response, connect your experiences to concrete academic benefits, such as improved subject knowledge, practical skills, or a new perspective on your field.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: it opens with the recipient’s plans, moves through your university experience and observations about Canada, and ends with encouragement and a sign-off. Paragraphing helps distinguish these topics, and connectors such as “Moreover” and “Additionally” make relationships between ideas visible. At times, however, the progression is repetitive or loosely connected. The final body paragraph repeats that you have lived in Canada for a long time and returns to the general point that meeting people helped your studies, without clearly separating personal adjustment from academic benefit. Some references, such as “here,” are also less precise. Grouping related details and using clearer links between cultural learning and study outcomes would make the letter flow more naturally.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main ideas, and you attempt some topic-related expressions, including “post graduate diploma,” “Business Analysis,” “air quality,” and “people’s safety.” However, noticeable word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems reduce precision and sometimes make the letter sound unnatural. Examples include “future better opportunites for job,” “zero crime,” and “I am looking forward to seen you.” Repeated broad terms such as “best,” “different,” and “learn” also limit variety. Aim for more natural combinations and precise descriptions—for example, explain that Canada has a low crime rate rather than saying “zero crime,” and describe specific academic or cultural insights. Proofreading spelling and word forms would further improve clarity.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use both simple sentences and some longer structures, including clauses introduced by “when” and “which,” so there is an attempt to vary sentence form. The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “you are planning to come canada and wants” has inconsistent agreement and an omitted preposition, while “I live here since very long time” needs a different tense construction. There are also errors with articles, plurals, and sentence boundaries, as in “one of the best country” and the lower-case “when” after a full stop. Work on consistent past and present perfect forms, subject–verb agreement, and accurate sentence punctuation. Shorter, carefully checked sentences can help you retain clarity while developing more complex structures.

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