Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-19

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 5.0)

Dear Alexa,

I hope you are doing well. It was great to hear that you are interested in taking a course in the university. I am more than happy to help you with choosing a right course.

During my time living abroad, I was studied in the Centennial College. It was a well-known college, especially for its business related as well as cooking courses. The college was located inside the greater toronto area.

I would say learning abroad helped me develop both physically and mentally strong. In addition, I learned about foreign cultures and how to become strong where you are alone to face a different kinds of challenges. Moreover, living abroad experience certainly heled me to build my personal growth and wealth.

In this one year experience, I started found myself more vigilant towards the society. Despite being new method of learning, I joined every class as a important part of my study and made new friends everyday.

I practiced with the new latest technology equipment which I had never seen before.

I hope my experienced will help you understand foreign culture better and easy way.

Best regards,

Helly

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify Centennial College in the Greater Toronto Area and mention learning about foreign cultures, independence, and new technology, so the letter is relevant to the experience. However, the country itself is never named, and the description of what you learnt about it remains general rather than giving a specific cultural or practical insight. The explanation of how the year helped your studies is also only partly clear: attending classes and using unfamiliar equipment are mentioned, but you do not explain how these experiences improved your university learning or course knowledge. The opening also says you will help her choose a course, which is not the main purpose of the letter. Develop each requested point with concrete details.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The letter has a recognisable structure, with separate paragraphs for the college, personal learning, and study experience, and it uses linking expressions such as “In addition” and “Moreover.” However, the progression between ideas is not consistently clear. For example, the paragraph beginning “I would say learning abroad…” moves from personal strength to culture and then to “personal growth and wealth,” without explaining how these points connect. The final study paragraph also combines social awareness, class attendance, friendships, and equipment in a way that feels like a list rather than a developed explanation. Some transitions are mechanical, and references such as “this one year experience” are not fully clear. Organise the points around the three requested topics and connect each example to its main idea.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “foreign cultures,” “challenges,” “personal growth,” and “technology equipment.” This gives you enough language to communicate the general experience. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unclear, such as “build my personal growth and wealth,” “strong where you are alone,” and “new latest technology equipment.” There are also spelling and form errors, including “heled” and “experienced” where the intended meaning is experience. These choices sometimes make the reader pause to interpret your meaning. Aim for more precise phrases that describe what you learned and how it supported your studies, and check spelling and natural word combinations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and longer sentences, including clauses introduced by “especially,” “how,” and “Despite.” However, errors occur frequently, and some longer constructions are difficult to follow. For example, “I was studied in the Centennial College” uses an incorrect verb form, while “I started found myself” combines incompatible verb patterns. Articles and agreement also need attention in “a important part” and “a different kinds of challenges.” The sentence beginning “Despite being new method of learning” lacks a clear grammatical connection to the main clause. These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the broad message, but they reduce clarity. Practise accurate past-tense forms, article use, and complete sentence structures before adding more complex clauses.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.