Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-23

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 Yinka,

Hello. I hope you are doing well? And how is your sister's health? I hope she is recovering well? I'm writing to you in regard to your letter I received two days ago asking for my advice on either to further with your education or to go and look for a paying job.

To begin with, in my opinion, I'm sure you will not love going to the college without me and our other friend Daniel. You remember school was always fun with us together. Although, you will definitely meet another set of friends but it will take ages for you to mingle because of the kind of person you are.

In all honestly, I think you need to get a job before pushing further in you academics. The reason is that to assist your sick dad to recover fully since he is the only person you have to fund your education.

I would like you to get a marketing job in one of leading company in states because you are excellent when it comes to convincing people to make a choice.

Thanks, as I looking forward hearing from you soon.

Your dear friend,

Rita.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You provided a reason why college might not be enjoyable, explained the benefit of working, and suggested a specific job type. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend. However, the development of your ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the suggestion of a 'marketing job' is brief and could be expanded with more detail on why this specific role suits your friend's personality. To reach a higher band, ensure that each point is fully extended with more descriptive reasoning rather than just stating the point.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each focusing on a specific requirement of the task. You use some cohesive devices such as 'To begin with' and 'In all honestly' to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical or slightly unnatural, such as 'In all honestly' (should be 'honesty'). The referencing is generally clear, though the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words to connect your ideas more fluidly. Overall, the structure is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using words like 'mingle', 'academics', and 'convincing'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'further with your education' (should be 'further your education') and 'in one of leading company' (should be 'in one of the leading companies'). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precision. To improve, focus on learning common collocations and ensuring pluralization is consistent with the preceding quantifiers.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. However, there are several grammatical errors throughout the text, such as 'asking for my advice on either to further' (should be 'whether to further') and 'as I looking forward hearing' (should be 'as I am looking forward to hearing'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some issues with sentence fragments and missing articles. While these errors are noticeable, they do not prevent the reader from understanding your message.

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.