Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-09

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You recently received a letter from a friend asking for advice about whether to go to college or to try to get a job. You think he/she should get a job.

Write a letter to this friend. In your letter

• say why he/she would not enjoy going to college
• explain why getting a job is a good idea for him/her
• suggest types of job that would be suitable for him/her

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ................. ,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Maria,

i'm writing this letter to help you to decide about is it better to choose to go college or search a job.I suggest getting an empoyment is better option for now.

I remember when we were in school back than ,you never liked acadmic subject instead you enjoyed volunteering more.I think learning a practical skill will help more for sucessful career rather than enrolling in college.

I would recommend getting job will be better idea as you would learn practical skills and experoience which is far more valuable for future growth. It will also help you to improve your social skills and and boost your confidence .

I would recommend to apply for jobs in the field you enjoy working most , i know you are good in digital field try getting job like ,digital content creator, information technology analyst where you can applyn your knowledge in best way.

I hope you will consider my suggetion , all the beast hope to see you soon .

Kind Regards

nishat

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three points and make your recommendation clear: “I suggest getting an employment is better option for now.” You explain that Maria preferred volunteering to academic subjects and that work could build practical skills, experience, social skills and confidence. You also suggest digital content creation and IT analysis, which makes the advice personal. However, the reasons she would not enjoy college are only briefly stated, and the benefits of employment are listed rather than developed with examples. The job suggestions could also be linked more explicitly to her interests or abilities. To strengthen the letter, explain why college’s academic focus would not suit her and show how one suggested role could help her gain relevant experience.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: an opening recommendation, reasons based on Maria’s past preferences, benefits of work, and suitable job ideas, followed by a closing. Paragraphing helps the reader follow these stages. Some connections are clear, such as “instead” contrasting academic subjects with volunteering, and “It will also” adding another benefit. However, the progression within paragraphs is sometimes abrupt, and the opening sentence is difficult to follow because several ideas run together. The job examples also arrive without a smooth link to the preceding advice. Use clearer sentence boundaries and transitions to show how her interests lead to the suggested roles, while keeping the friendly letter format consistent.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for giving personal advice, including “practical skills,” “social skills,” “boost your confidence,” and “digital content creator.” These phrases communicate the main ideas, and the job titles add useful specificity. However, spelling errors and inaccurate word forms are noticeable, including “empoyment,” “acadmic,” “experoience,” and “suggetion.” Some expressions are also awkward or imprecise, such as “in the field you enjoy working most” and “applyn your knowledge in best way.” These issues limit the accuracy and naturalness of the vocabulary, even though the message remains understandable. Check spelling carefully and choose more natural collocations, such as “gain experience” and “make the best use of your knowledge.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more developed sentence forms, for example, “I remember when we were in school…” and the sentence explaining that work could improve social skills and confidence. The main message is generally understandable, but grammatical errors occur in sentence construction, articles, and punctuation. Examples include “decide about is it better,” “choose to go college,” and “getting job will be better idea”; these need more accurate clause order and article use. There are also run-on sentences and inconsistent capitalisation, such as the opening “i'm” and the long first sentence. Practise forming indirect questions (“whether it is better…”) and checking articles and sentence boundaries. More accurate control of these patterns would make your advice easier to read.

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