Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-29

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 Emma,

I just wanted to drop you a line about my experience studying abroad over the past year, which will be helpful to you in the future.

I studied Tourism and Hospitality Management from Mount Saint Vincent University, which is one the best university in Nova Soctia. I suggest you to persue your study from this university. If you graduate from here you can get job opportunities in your future.

Canada is a diverse country, there are alot of rules and regulations which most of the individuals follow in their daily lives like traffic rules and so many more . In result, you will induljed in this country easily.

Additionally, Canada was very helpful in my studies i was communicate with different kind of people like from different cultures, their prospectives. I did one year diploma, professors helped us in practical things.

Can't wait to hear from you the thoughts related to this.

lots of love

supan

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the three requested points: you name Mount Saint Vincent University in Nova Scotia, comment on Canada’s diversity and everyday rules, and explain that meeting people from different cultures and learning practical skills helped your studies. However, the country description is quite general, and the study benefit is not fully explained: “professors helped us in practical things” does not show clearly how this supported your university course. The recommendation about job opportunities is relevant as personal advice but takes space without answering the task directly. Develop the learning and academic benefits with specific examples, and make the connection to her studies explicit. The friendly opening and closing suit a personal letter, though the sign-off could be presented more conventionally.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: it opens with the reason for writing, then discusses the university, Canada, and the academic experience before closing. Paragraphing helps the reader identify these topics, and transitions such as “Additionally” show an attempt to connect ideas. Some links are less clear, however. The sentence beginning “Canada is a diverse country” joins two independent ideas with a comma, while “In result” does not express the relationship between following rules and settling in clearly. The final sentence, “Can't wait to hear from you the thoughts related to this,” is also awkwardly connected. Use clearer transitions and pronouns, and ensure each paragraph develops one point in a logical sequence.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “diverse,” “traffic rules,” “different cultures,” and “practical,” which helps communicate the main ideas. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors make parts less natural or harder to understand. Examples include “one the best university,” “persue your study,” “alot,” “induljed,” and “their prospectives.” “Job opportunities in your future” is also an unnatural phrase. Aim for accurate, natural expressions rather than adding more ambitious vocabulary: for example, describe the country’s “cultural diversity” and say that you “gained practical experience.” Proofread spelling and choose phrases that fit the intended meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, such as the opening sentence with “which” and the conditional “If you graduate from here…”. However, control is inconsistent, and errors in sentence construction and verb forms sometimes make the message difficult to follow. “Canada is a diverse country, there are…” is a comma splice; “I was communicate” needs a correctly formed verb phrase; and “I did one year diploma” is missing an article. There are also problems with agreement and sentence boundaries in “Additionally, Canada was very helpful in my studies i was…”. Practise separating independent clauses, using past-tense forms consistently, and checking articles and subject–verb agreement. These corrections would make your ideas clearer.

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