Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-25
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 Mehdi,
How are you ? I hope everything is going well. I'am writing to you because you asked me for advice about whether you should start working or carry your studies, and i thought i'd tell you a little about it.
First of all, college is not that easy. The main reason is that the studies are going to be very demanding for example, you will have classes from 8 AM to 5 PM with home-work which can't allow you to work while studing.
As for working, in my view is the best idea for you. In particular, giving your love for corpret lifestyle. This is important because going in with your enthausiasm and passion to be on top of your game is a key skill to success.
Finally, i suggest strongly for you to start with law ferms or marqueting companies.
I hope that all makes sense, so just let me know what you think.
Anyway, that's all for now. I hope to hear from you soon.
Best wishes,
Djihene
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: explaining why college might be difficult, why a job is a good choice, and suggesting specific industries. Your tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend. However, the development of your ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation regarding why college is 'demanding' is quite brief, and the suggestion of 'law firms or marketing companies' lacks detail on why these specific fields suit your friend's personality. To reach a higher band, try to expand on your reasoning with more specific examples or personal anecdotes that connect the advice to your friend's situation.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The letter follows a logical structure with a clear opening, body paragraphs, and a closing. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'First of all', 'As for', and 'Finally' to signal the progression of your ideas. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes a bit mechanical. The paragraphing is sufficient, but the transition between the introduction and the first body paragraph could be smoother. Additionally, some referencing is slightly unclear, such as 'I thought I'd tell you a little about it', which is a bit vague given the context of the request.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'demanding', 'enthusiasm', and 'passion'. However, there are several spelling errors, such as 'corpret' (corporate), 'enthausiasm' (enthusiasm), 'ferm' (firm), and 'marqueting' (marketing). These errors are noticeable and detract from the overall quality of the writing. While your meaning remains clear, you need to focus on accuracy in spelling and word choice to move into a higher band. Using more precise collocations would also help elevate your writing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical slips throughout the text. Examples include 'I'am' (I am), 'carry your studies' (continue your studies), 'in my view is the best idea' (which is missing a subject or needs rephrasing), and 'giving your love' (given your love). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with spacing around question marks and commas. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they occur frequently enough to limit your score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and basic sentence construction.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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