Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Dear Marlin,

I heard that from your sister that you are going to Canada at McMaster University for a year for your studies. I also went to Canada two years back for my studies at Guelph University so I thought i should share my learnings with you which i think will help you. I took course for nursing in the university. I took nursing course because it is in demand all over the world.

After coming to Canada, I got to know the sense of responsibilites. I was alone here so I need to see my expenses all alone. I learnt that you need to earn and study at the same time. In Canada, I learn how to make presentation nicely and effectively and how we need to present. I develop my personality and became outspoken. Earlier I was hesitate to speak in the events.

I got good job in India after getting good communication and presentable skills in Canada University.

I hope this letter helps you in Canada.

Thanking you

Yours sincerely,

Maria

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three requested points: you identify Guelph University, describe learning to manage expenses and communicate in Canada, and explain that these skills helped you obtain a job in India. The details about becoming more responsible and confident are relevant and give the reader a sense of your experience. However, the explanation of what you learnt about the country is somewhat narrow, focusing mainly on personal responsibilities and presentation skills rather than broader observations about life or culture in Canada. The study benefit is also brief: you mention communication and presentation skills, but could explain more directly how these supported your nursing studies. Develop these points with one or two specific examples to make the account more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter has a recognisable structure, with an opening, two main paragraphs and a closing, and the ideas generally move from your experience in Canada to its benefits. Paragraphing helps separate the background from what you learnt. However, progression within the paragraphs is sometimes abrupt: the shift from managing expenses to making presentations, for example, is not clearly signposted. Some links are also awkward or repetitive, such as “I also went to Canada” followed by “After coming to Canada.” Use clearer transitions to show how each experience relates to the next, and connect the final point about getting a job more explicitly to the academic benefits of the year abroad. The closing is appropriate, though the sign-off could be more natural for a friendly letter.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough everyday vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “sense of responsibility,” “expenses,” “outspoken,” and “communication skills.” These choices are relevant to a personal letter, but the range is limited and some expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, which makes the writing less fluent. For example, “share my learnings” and “presentable skills” do not express your meaning naturally; “what I learnt” and “presentation skills” would be clearer. There are also spelling and word-form problems, such as “responsibilites” and “hesitate” where “hesitant” is needed. Aim for precise, natural collocations and vary repeated general words such as “learn” and “skills.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

Your message is understandable, and you attempt both simple and more connected sentences, such as “I was alone here so I need to see my expenses all alone.” However, control of verb forms and sentence construction is inconsistent. For example, “I need to see my expenses” should use a past form and a more suitable verb, while “In Canada, I learn” and “I develop my personality” should be “learnt” and “developed” to keep the past narrative consistent. The opening sentence, “I heard that from your sister that…,” also has an awkward structure. Capitalisation and punctuation need attention, including the lowercase “i.” Practise accurate past-tense sentences and review articles and sentence patterns before adding more complex structures.

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