Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-05

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)

I received your letter for my advice about whether you should start job or go to college and i am writing this letter to give my suggestion on college or getting a job.

I would suggest you not to go college because now a days classes are online you will not get experience of that envermnet you would just waste your money in college. Moreover teacher are using internet for explaining courses. In addition they use AI to give you information related to your question and you can study by you own their is a lot of online courses.

Getting a job is very best idea, this days to get corporate job easy because they check your knowledge not your college degree. by getting job you can support your family.

I would like to recommend you some job where you can apply like in information technology field and in construction this are two sector very their is lot of opportunity.

Hope you find my letter soon and help you to decide.

Thank you.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly state why college might not be enjoyable, explain the benefits of working, and suggest specific sectors. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For example, the argument that 'classes are online' as a reason to avoid college is a bit simplistic, and the suggestion of 'construction' as a job sector for a friend could be expanded with more personal reasoning. To reach a higher band, ensure your arguments are more fully extended and supported with more sophisticated reasoning rather than just stating general observations.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organised into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use some basic cohesive devices like 'Moreover', 'In addition', and 'However', but these are sometimes used mechanically. The flow between sentences is occasionally interrupted by grammatical errors, which makes the progression of ideas feel a bit disjointed at times. To improve, try to use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that your referencing (e.g., 'this', 'these') clearly points back to the intended noun to improve the overall cohesion of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your main points clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'corporate job', 'information technology', and 'sector'. However, there are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice, such as 'get experience of that envermnet' (environment) and 'very best idea'. There are also minor spelling errors like 'envermnet' and 'their' used instead of 'there'. To improve, focus on learning common collocations and proofreading for basic spelling accuracy to ensure your writing sounds more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response relies heavily on simple sentence structures. While you attempt some complex sentences, they often contain errors in punctuation and syntax, such as 'I would suggest you not to go college because now a days classes are online you will not get experience...'. There are frequent errors in articles, verb forms, and sentence boundaries, which occasionally force the reader to re-read to understand the intended meaning. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically the use of conjunctions and relative clauses, and pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement and article usage.

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

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