Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-07

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 6.5)

Dear Callie,

I hope this email finds you well. I was thrilled to see your pictures of high school graduation. I am glad to know that you are planning to be Chef to earn a living, and will try to answer your question of whether pursuing culinary arts course or working at food establishment would be helpful.

Firstly, I recommend working full-time at a restaurant as a kitchen helper over studying a subject at the university. The thought behind it is you will not enjoy at college, mainly owing to the nature of course. Cooking is a skill that is learnt mostly through hands on learning.

Secondly, working at a food business will help you gain more practical and realistic experience. For example, a sous chef role at Dominoz will help you learn various dishes, recipes, customer demands, and nature of the role.

Lastly, you can explore positions like kitchen helper, sous chef, food service attendant, food server, and others to dive deeper and get hands on training. If you have any questions,, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Regaards,

James

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly state why college might not be suitable, explain the benefits of working, and provide specific examples of job roles. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, and your position is consistent throughout. To reach a higher band, you could expand slightly more on the 'why' behind your advice; for instance, explaining the financial benefits or the networking opportunities of working in a kitchen would add more depth to your argument. Overall, the response is well-focused and meets the requirements of the task effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. You use transition signals such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'Lastly' to guide the reader through your points. While these are functional, they are somewhat mechanical. To improve, try using more varied cohesive devices or linking ideas within sentences rather than relying solely on paragraph-initial markers. Paragraphing is used appropriately, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow. The referencing is generally clear, though the transition between the introduction and the first body paragraph could be smoother.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your ideas clearly. Phrases like 'pursuing culinary arts' and 'hands on learning' are relevant to the topic. However, there are some minor inaccuracies and awkward phrasings, such as 'thought behind it is you will not enjoy at college' and 'Dominoz' (which should be capitalized correctly as a brand name). You also have a few minor spelling errors, such as 'Regaards'. To achieve a higher score, aim for more precise collocations and ensure consistent attention to spelling and capitalization of proper nouns.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical slips. For example, 'I am glad to know that you are planning to be Chef' is missing an article ('a chef'). Additionally, 'you will not enjoy at college' is grammatically awkward; 'you will not enjoy college' would be more natural. There is also a punctuation error with a double comma ('questions,,'). To improve, focus on article usage and verb-object agreement. Despite these errors, the grammar does not impede communication, and you show a good attempt at using complex structures.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.