Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-16

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 7.5)

Dear Sara,

I hope you are doing well! I am extremely delighted to receive your letter in which you are seeking my advice whether you should enroll in a academic course or find a new job.

Bestie! I know you since our childhood, and I am particularly aware of your disliking towards studying for long hours. You have never been interested in paying close attention to reading books and doing assignments instead your keen interest lies in performing practical activities and meeting new people. Therefore, spending few years at college may become boring for you, so getting a new job is a suitable option.

Further, working at a job would allow you to gain a valuable experience which will be helpful in your future. You could not only learn how to manage monthly expenses, but also community effectively with colleagues and customs.

Honey! Since you are highly interested in customer service and sales department, I would suggest working in a retail sector. Your friendly nature and confidence will allow you to interact with people from different backgrounds, and these skills will allow you to understand your strengths and weaknesses. I hope my suggestion would help you to make the right decision for your future.

Sending you warm hugs and love.

With love,

Jessica

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The writer effectively covers all bullet points required by the task. The response clearly addresses why Sara would not enjoy college by highlighting her dislike of studying and preference for practical activities, explains why a job is a good idea for gaining experience and financial management, and suggests suitable roles in the retail sector and customer service. The tone is appropriately informal and friendly throughout, and the purpose of the letter is fully achieved.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0

The letter is logically organized with clear paragraphing, each dedicated to a specific aspect of the prompt. Cohesive devices such as 'Therefore', 'Further', and 'Since' are used effectively to guide the reader through the arguments. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, body points covering reasons against college and for a job, specific job suggestions, and the closing. Referencing is clear throughout.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student uses a sufficient and generally natural range of vocabulary suitable for a general informal letter, such as 'extensively delighted', 'practical activities', and 'strengths and weaknesses'. There are a few minor lexical inaccuracies or awkward collocations, such as 'disliking towards studying' instead of 'dislike of studying', 'community effectively' instead of 'communicate effectively', and 'customs' instead of 'customers', which slightly detract from a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The writer demonstrates a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses and conditional structures ('Since you are highly interested... I would suggest...'). There are some minor grammatical errors, such as 'in which you are seeking my advice whether' (missing 'on'), 'disliking towards', 'spending few years' (missing 'a'), and 'working at a job would allow you to gain a valuable experience' ('experience' is uncountable here). However, these errors do not impede communication.

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

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