Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-04

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 Rob

I hope you and your family doing well. I received your letter about advice on to join college or to try to get a job. Now you are at a curtail point of carrier where you have to decide which is best for your future.

It is a hard decision to decide between college and job. I believe joining a job could be a better idea. You already got a degree in human education which is quite enough to enter in the job industry. Choosing master's for further studies might be beneficial, but it is also stressful. Due to lack of colleges in our area there are only few colleges who offers master's in your field. Classes might be overcrowded some time.

So, joining a job gives you experience and skills which lots of companies requires today. Also, the skills that you learn in an organization, you might not be able to learn in a classroom

There are lot of job you might suu

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses all three bullet points: it explains why college might be unsuitable, argues for the benefits of working, and begins to suggest job types. However, the letter is incomplete, as it cuts off abruptly at the end while introducing the third bullet point. This lack of completion prevents the ideas from being fully developed and results in a failure to provide a proper closing. While the position is clear, the incomplete nature of the response significantly impacts the overall task fulfilment.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and limited. For example, the transition 'So, joining a job...' is a bit informal and abrupt. The abrupt ending of the letter also disrupts the flow and coherence of the final section. While the logical sequence is generally clear, the lack of a concluding paragraph and the incomplete final sentence hinder the overall cohesion of the piece.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, but there are several errors in word choice and spelling that affect the quality of the writing. For instance, 'curtail point of carrier' should be 'critical point of your career', and 'human education' is an unnatural collocation. There are also spelling errors such as 'suu' at the end. While the student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary, the range is limited and the inaccuracies occasionally make the intended meaning slightly less clear.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include 'I hope you and your family doing well' (missing auxiliary verb), 'there are only few colleges who offers' (subject-verb agreement error), and 'lots of companies requires' (subject-verb agreement error). These errors are noticeable and occur throughout the text. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band score.

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

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