Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-12

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

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ................. ,

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Dear Rozy,

I hope you're doing well!

I'm writing this letter to give you advise that you asked a few days ago about either joining college or getting a job. I recommend you to go for a job.

Since I'm aware of your financial condition, spending thousands of dollars by taking debut for your study can even worsen your condition. You also told me that your dream is to open a restaurant, so why not you start collecting money for your startup? By joining college, will not only waste your time; you will also waste your money.

By getting a job you'll be having one-on-one experience in your field, and at young age you will learn some key skills and strategies that are needed to start your business. With your creativity and better performance you can be paid well and get permotion.

As you have wonderfull cullinary skills, you'd try wroking at restaurant as a cook. I must say, that will be also helpfull if you want to build your career in this stream. Apart from this, you can also try as front desk or account handler if you want to explore your calbera.

I hope my suggestions will help you to take the best decision.

Lots of love,

Pawandeep Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response7.0
Coherence and Cohesion7.0
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response covers all three bullet points of the prompt very well. You successfully explain why your friend would not enjoy college by pointing out financial strain and wasted time, provide a clear explanation of why getting a job is beneficial for future business goals, and suggest specific, suitable jobs such as a cook, front desk worker, or account handler. The tone is appropriately friendly and consistent throughout the letter. The ideas are well-developed and directly address the requirements of a General Training Task 1 letter, earning a solid band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organised with a clear beginning, body paragraphs addressing separate bullet points, and an appropriate closing. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate different ideas, such as financial reasons versus job suggestions. Cohesive devices are generally handled well (e.g., 'Apart from this', 'Since I'm aware'), though some referencing and transitions feel slightly mechanical. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow from start to finish.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate to good range of vocabulary appropriate for a semi-formal letter. You successfully use less common phrases like 'financial condition', 'startup', and 'culinary skills'. However, there are a few noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'advise' instead of 'advice', 'debut' instead of 'debt', 'permotion' instead of 'promotion', 'wonderfull', 'wroking', 'helpfull', and 'calbera' instead of 'caliber' or 'skills'. These occasional inaccuracies prevent the lexical score from reaching higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The letter contains a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional and subordinate clauses ('Since I'm aware of your financial condition...', 'As you have wonderful culinary skills...'). There are, however, several grammatical and mechanical errors throughout the text, including 'advice that you asked' instead of 'advice which you asked for', 'why not you start' instead of 'why don't you start', and 'at young age' missing the article 'a'. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to place the response firmly in the band 6 category.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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