Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 Kiara,

I am truly happy to hear that you are going to begin your university course and many congratulations on successfully compeleting your secondary education. There are few things that I want to share to you from my experience.

As you know I moved to Vancouver, Canada for my post graduation. I have completed Masters in Business administration from University of Canada West that is a well known university around the world. It is located in the heart of Vancouver downtown and I know you'ld enjoy studying here.

Canada has a multicultural environment beacuse people from different countries are living here. As you are a outspoken person,believe me you can easily get adjusted. But you've to face snow in black ice in winter that is really a tough se

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

You begin appropriately and provide relevant information about studying in Vancouver, Canada, as well as the country’s multicultural population and winter conditions. However, the response addresses the task only partially: the explanation of what you learnt about Canada is brief, and the required point about how the year abroad helped your studies is not covered. The letter also stops mid-sentence at “that is really a tough se…”, leaving the message unfinished. In addition, the response is 20 words below the required minimum, which limits the opportunity to develop the requested points. To improve, complete the letter and explain specifically how living and studying in Canada strengthened your academic knowledge or skills.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The letter has a recognisable opening and moves from your studies in Vancouver to observations about Canada, so the reader can follow its basic direction. Paragraphing also separates these topics. However, the overall progression is incomplete: there is no paragraph explaining how the experience helped your studies, and the final sentence breaks off, leaving the letter without a proper ending. Some links are also awkward or unclear, such as “There are few things that I want to share to you from my experience.” Use clear transitions between the three requested points, and finish with a closing paragraph and sign-off. This would make the organisation more complete and the connections between ideas easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of topic-related vocabulary, including “multicultural environment,” “post graduation,” and “Masters in Business administration,” which helps communicate the setting and your studies. There are also noticeable spelling and word-choice problems, such as “compeleting,” “beacuse,” and “a outspoken,” as well as the unclear phrase “snow in black ice.” These errors sometimes make the intended meaning less precise. Aim for accurate, natural collocations—for example, “icy roads” rather than “black ice” in this sentence—and check spelling carefully. More precise language to describe what you discovered about Canadian culture and what academic skills you gained would also strengthen the letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including “As you know I moved to Vancouver, Canada for my post graduation” and a sentence beginning “As you are a outspoken person.” The main ideas are generally understandable, but errors in sentence construction and punctuation reduce accuracy. For example, “There are few things that I want to share to you” has an incorrect grammatical pattern, and the sentence beginning “As you know” needs punctuation after the introductory phrase. The final sentence is incomplete, so its structure cannot be fully understood. Practise accurate patterns such as “share something with you,” and review articles, commas after introductory clauses, and sentence completion.

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