Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-08
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 Debbie, I hope everything is going well with you. Thank you for asking me for advice regarding your career and future studies. As you are living far away from the city, it would be really hard for you to commute, to commute to the college, and it would waste almost four hours every day. Also, you couldn't afford high living costs in the city. I would like to advise you to save money for two years for your fee. I know you are going through a tough time due to the financial responsibilities, and it was really heartbroken to know about your father's accident. If I were you, I would find a job near my hometown where I can get experience as well, and it would be helpful to pay household bills, and also I would save money for the study in the future. The good thing is that you are intelligent and have good interpersonal skills. You can easily get a job as a customer service representative or as a receptionist. Besides, you can also try to work online, where you can earn money without any time restrictions. I hope this helps. Let me know what you decide. Best wishes, Ronak.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.5 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5
You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly explained why college would be difficult due to commuting and costs, provided a logical argument for why working is a better alternative, and suggested specific roles like customer service or receptionist. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, and your position is consistent throughout. To reach a higher band, ensure that your ideas are slightly more developed; for instance, you could elaborate more on how the specific jobs mentioned would help your friend build their career path, rather than just focusing on the financial benefits.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The letter follows a logical progression, starting with an opening, moving through the advice, and concluding with a friendly sign-off. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Also', 'Besides', and 'If I were you' to link your ideas. However, the paragraphing is currently non-existent, as the entire response is written as one block of text. To improve, you should break your letter into clear paragraphs: one for the introduction, one for each of the main points (college vs. work), and one for the conclusion. This would significantly improve the readability and structure of your writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.5
You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary suitable for this task, such as 'interpersonal skills', 'time restrictions', and 'financial responsibilities'. The language is natural and conveys your meaning clearly. There is a minor error in word choice where you wrote 'it was really heartbroken to know', which should be 'it was really heartbreaking to hear'. To move into the higher bands, try to incorporate more varied collocations or slightly more sophisticated phrasing to express your empathy and advice, as your current vocabulary is functional but somewhat basic.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as the conditional 'If I were you, I would find a job...'. While your meaning is always clear, there are some grammatical slips, such as the repetitive 'to commute, to commute' in the first paragraph and the incorrect use of 'heartbroken' as an adjective for an event rather than a person. Punctuation is generally accurate, but the lack of paragraphing makes the text feel dense. Focusing on eliminating these small slips and ensuring consistent verb tense usage will help you achieve a higher score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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