Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-10

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 John,

I hope this letter finds you in a pink of health and good spirit.

Firstly, I wants to thank you for asking a advice about your future plan. I suggest you to find a job instead of join a college. Beacuse I know your family condition and finacial burden on you so in this condition its hard for you to manage your acdemics expenses and household expanses.

This will be a good idea if you get a job in your profession and easy for you to manage everything. As nursing is a good profession and you will earn good money and make some savings for your future study.

I would suggest you to apply on the websites of hospital. As you just earned the bachelor degree in the nursing so you have to apply in the nursing cordinator jobs or a clinical assistant beacuse these ones are a good options and will help you in the future for better carrier options.

I just suggest you which is good for you but I always with you and waiting for your reply.

Regards,

Sukhwinder

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your position is clear: you recommend that John work rather than attend college, and you give relevant reasons, including his family’s financial pressure and the chance to save for further study. You also suggest suitable nursing roles, such as nursing coordinator and clinical assistant. However, the task asks why he would not enjoy college, and this is not really explained; the response focuses instead on why college may be financially difficult. The benefits of working are also only briefly developed. To strengthen the letter, explain what aspects of college would not suit him and add specific ways a job would benefit him beyond earning money.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter is arranged in a clear sequence: you introduce your advice, explain the financial reason, describe the benefits of work, and then suggest job types. Paragraph breaks help the reader follow these stages, and linking expressions such as “Firstly” and “As” make the relationships between ideas understandable. This gives the response a coherent overall structure. To make the progression more natural and flexible, avoid relying on formulaic transitions and connect the advice more explicitly—for example, link his nursing degree to the particular roles you recommend. The final paragraph also shifts quickly from reassurance to waiting for a reply; a smoother closing would make the letter feel more complete.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use vocabulary relevant to the situation, including “financial burden,” “household expenses,” “profession,” “savings,” and “clinical assistant.” These choices communicate the main advice, and the nursing-related terms show some attempt at specific language. However, the range is limited in places, and several spelling, word-form, or collocation errors reduce accuracy, such as “finacial,” “acdemics expenses,” “nursing cordinator,” and “better carrier options.” Some phrases are also unnatural, including “in a pink of health” and “apply on the websites of hospital.” Aim for accurate, natural combinations and proofread spelling; for example, “apply for vacancies on hospital websites” is clearer and more idiomatic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response uses mostly simple sentence patterns, with some attempts to combine ideas using clauses such as “so in this condition its hard for you to manage…” and “As nursing is a good profession…”. These structures help convey reasons, but control is inconsistent and errors occur frequently. Examples include “I wants,” “asking a advice,” “I suggest you to find,” and “instead of join,” which involve verb forms, articles, and patterns after verbs or prepositions. There are also missing apostrophes in “its” and “you will earn good money and make some savings” would benefit from clearer sentence boundaries. Practise accurate basic structures first, then add complex clauses with correct verb forms and punctuation.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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