Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-26

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 6.0)

Dear Emma,

I hope you are doing well. I'm writing this letter to appreciate you that you have made up your mind to study abroad and I would be very happy to guide you in this matter.

Firstly, I would love to tell you that I have studied the same course from a very well-known and prestigious university of Germany for one year. This university building and the environment is amazing. Germany is a very student friendly country and the people there are very generous and helpful. It was a great experience and I would highly recommend you to pursue this course. While my stay there I have learnt alot about the culture and rich history, and I would say that it was one of the best decisions.

Apart from this, living abroad has helped me to improve my skills which I can apply to excel in my career. Moreover, the advancements that I have learnt from studying aboard are very beneficial. It has made me punctual, and more focused towards my profession and I have found it very helpful. I would surely visit you next week, we could have a chat about it and I'll get a chance to spend some quality time with your brother.

Best wishes,

Anadil Noel.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three requested points: you identify Germany as the study destination, mention its culture and history, and explain that the experience improved skills and focus relevant to your career. The friendly opening and closing also suit a personal letter. However, some parts are more fully covered than others. The location is not specific beyond the country and an unnamed university, while the description of what you learnt about Germany is general (“the culture and rich history”) rather than supported with an example. The study benefit is also broad: explain how the experience helped with your university subject or academic work, not only your career and personal qualities. These relevant ideas are present but need clearer development.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall shape, moving from an introduction to your experience, then its benefits, and finally an invitation to talk. Paragraphing helps distinguish these stages, and phrases such as “Firstly” and “Moreover” signal connections. At times, however, linking feels mechanical, and some relationships between ideas are not clear. “Apart from this” does not precisely show how the next point relates to the previous one, and the final sentence shifts abruptly from discussing study benefits to visiting and spending time with the friend’s brother. Use transitions that express the actual relationship between ideas, and keep each paragraph focused on one main purpose. Clearer links between your learning about Germany and the value of studying there would improve progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a suitable range of vocabulary for a personal letter, including “prestigious,” “generous,” “rich history,” and “beneficial.” These choices communicate your positive experience, but some wording is imprecise or does not collocate naturally. For example, “appreciate you that you have made up your mind” is not a natural way to express encouragement, and “advancements that I have learnt” is unclear. “Very student friendly” and “amazing” are understandable but general; more precise descriptions would make your account more informative. There are also spelling and form issues, such as “alot” and “aboard” where “abroad” is intended. Aim for accurate, natural phrases and specific vocabulary about your studies and the country.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the relative clause in “skills which I can apply to excel in my career” and the conditional suggestion “we could have a chat.” Most of the message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors affect naturalness. In “I have studied the same course from a … university,” the preposition and tense pattern are not appropriate; “I studied the same course at …” would be clearer. “This university building and the environment is amazing” has a subject–verb agreement problem, and “While my stay there” needs a different grammatical construction, such as “During my stay there.” Review articles, prepositions, and agreement, while continuing to use varied sentence structures.

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