Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-27

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 6.5)

Dear Richa,

How have you been? It feels great to hear that you are planning to move overseas for a year to fulfil your university course requirenments.

As you know I recently came back from Canada by completing my Masters degree. I studied in the waterloo university in Canada and Nutritional health was my main subject.

I explored many cities in canada while I was there. Their main festivals are quite different from our country such as they celebrate the Halloween, Christmas and New year with the grand celebration. I learnt to understand French language which was new for me and my fluency in English also improved over time.

I think it was beneficial for me a lot as it provided me an opportunity to study with wide range of students and to meet many working professionals. Because of my experience now I am able to work with an international company more confidently.

I hope this information help you and if you need any other advice I am here to help you.

Yours truly,

Himanshi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three requested points: you identify Waterloo University in Canada, describe festivals and language learning, and explain how studying with diverse students and meeting professionals helped your studies and confidence. The letter is appropriately personal and gives relevant information. The account of the country is less fully developed than the other points: the festivals are listed, but you could explain more about what they revealed about Canadian culture or daily life. Similarly, the academic benefit would be clearer with a specific example of how the experience supported your university work. The response covers the task well overall, while some ideas remain general rather than fully extended.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: an opening, separate paragraphs for your study location and cultural experience, an explanation of the benefits, and a suitable closing. This makes the main points easy to follow. Linking phrases such as “As you know,” “while I was there,” and “Because of my experience” help connect information, although some transitions feel formulaic and the relationship between ideas could be made more explicit. For example, the festivals and language learning are grouped together without explaining how they relate to your understanding of Canada. The paragraphing is effective, but clearer links between examples and their significance would make the progression more consistently smooth.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the letter and includes relevant terms such as “university course,” “festivals,” “fluency,” “working professionals,” and “international company.” These choices communicate the main ideas, and the tone is generally suitable for writing to someone you know. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “fulfil my university course requirenments,” “by completing my Masters degree,” and “with the grand celebration.” There are also spelling and capitalisation slips, such as “requirenments,” “canada,” and “New year.” Aim for more natural combinations and check spelling and proper nouns carefully; this would make the message more precise and fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, and the meaning remains clear throughout. For instance, “Because of my experience now I am able to work with an international company more confidently” shows an attempt to explain a result, while the letter also uses time clauses such as “while I was there.” Some grammatical errors remain, including “I studied in the waterloo university” and “I hope this information help you,” where article use and subject–verb agreement need attention. The sentence beginning “As you know” also has an awkward verb construction. Review articles, agreement, and verb patterns, and use commas to separate introductory phrases. Greater accuracy across these structures would strengthen the letter.

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