Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-09

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 Joban,

I hope this letter finds you in the best of health. I am writing in response to your letter regarding whether you should go to college. My honest advise will be that you should try to get a job. Since, you came to Canada after pursuing the Masters in Agriculture; you are way ahead of the mindsets the student possess here. Moreover it will be better to get a suitable job and build your work experience so that you can lodge your file for Permanent Residency. You already have job experience in India. I think finding job relating to your field will be good idea like Agronomist, Field supervisor, Farm Supervisor, and Farm Lead.

I wish you the best of luck for your job hunt.

Yours Faithfully,

Amitoz Singh.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses all three bullet points: it explains why college might not be suitable, why a job is beneficial, and suggests specific roles. However, the response is significantly under the 150-word minimum requirement, which limits the depth of development for each point. The ideas are presented but lack the necessary elaboration to fully satisfy the task requirements. Because the length requirement was not met, the response is penalized, preventing it from reaching a higher band score despite the relevant content.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical structure, moving from the introduction to the advice and concluding with a sign-off. The use of cohesive devices such as 'Moreover' and 'Since' helps connect ideas. However, the paragraphing is underdeveloped due to the brevity of the text. The flow is generally clear, but the lack of sufficient length makes the overall progression feel somewhat abrupt and limited. To improve, you should expand each point into a full paragraph with supporting sentences.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, with some field-specific terms like 'Agronomist' and 'Permanent Residency'. However, there are errors in word choice and form, such as 'advise' (should be the noun 'advice') and 'the mindsets the student possess' (should be 'possesses'). The range is somewhat limited, and the vocabulary does not demonstrate the flexibility or precision required for higher bands. Focusing on correct word forms and using more varied descriptive language would enhance your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are several grammatical errors. For example, 'Since, you came to Canada...' contains an unnecessary comma, and 'pursuing the Masters' should be 'pursuing a Master's degree'. Additionally, 'the mindsets the student possess' has a subject-verb agreement error. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall accuracy of the writing. Increasing the variety of complex structures while ensuring grammatical precision is recommended.

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.