Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-13
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 jammy
I hope you are doing well
I received your letter about the confusion you have in persuing college or doing job. I would recommend you to get a good job in any hotel as receptionist.As you already finsih your diploma in hotel managemnet. So it will good start for you if you can get good job in any hotel place. You can enchance your skills and then go ahead in your career. As I know you like this field so you should definetely go with this job either going for college . At this age i know you will not enjoy college as you dong have any friend at this age and it will be tough for you to adjust. So just go ahead with your career job. Let me know if you need more advice from me .Just be confident whatever you choose to do
Best of luck for your future opportunities
Karam
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses all three bullet points of the task. You clearly state why college might not be enjoyable, explain the benefits of working, and suggest a specific job (receptionist). However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For example, the explanation regarding why college would be difficult—'you don't have any friend at this age'—is a bit simplistic and lacks depth. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your reasoning with more detailed explanations or examples. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, and your position is consistent throughout the piece.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The letter is generally easy to follow, but it lacks clear paragraphing. The entire response is written as a single block of text, which makes it harder to read. Using distinct paragraphs for each bullet point would significantly improve the structure. While you use some cohesive devices like 'As you already' and 'So', the flow is occasionally mechanical. The logical progression is present, but the lack of paragraph breaks prevents the response from achieving a higher score in this criterion. Ensure you separate your introduction, body points, and conclusion clearly.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
Your vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite basic. You use some relevant terms like 'diploma', 'hotel management', and 'career', but there is a lack of variety and precision. There are also some spelling errors, such as 'persuing' (pursuing), 'finsih' (finished), 'managemnet' (management), and 'enchance' (enhance). These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the score. To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated collocations and ensure you proofread for common spelling mistakes. Using more varied vocabulary would help convey your advice more effectively.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response relies heavily on simple sentence structures. While you attempt some complex sentences, they often contain grammatical errors, such as 'it will good start' (it will be a good start) and 'either going for college' (instead of going to college). There are also issues with punctuation and capitalization, such as the lack of a capital letter at the start of sentences and missing spaces after periods. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of sentence structures, such as relative clauses or conditional sentences, and pay closer attention to basic 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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