Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Dear sukhman,

I hope you doing well.i received you letter yesterday.and happy you giving to some advice for beyyer future. i hope you listen my advice job will be batter choice than going to college.i know you so not enjoying study long hours.you always perpare partical work and readind some english books and grab a knowledge its better way improve yourself. however,the college is very stressful because attend every class and do all assignments. therefore,i beleive you might not enjoy college life.moreover, nowdays job is very important role in our life.when i do a job earn money and independent our life. salary is most important because its help to your family, so suggest to look for job in resturants,hotels, customer service because you are friendly to talk with people.I hope my advice helps you make the right decision. Please write back soon and let me know what you decide.

Best wishes,

Robinpreet singh.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all parts of the task prompt reasonably well. You successfully explained why your friend might not enjoy college by mentioning that studying long hours and attending stressful classes would not suit them. You also provided valid reasons why getting a job is a good idea, noting benefits like gaining independence and earning money to support family. Furthermore, you suggested suitable jobs such as working in restaurants, hotels, or customer service based on your friend's friendly personality. While the ideas are relevant, some parts of the response are slightly under-developed and lack smooth elaboration. However, you maintained an appropriate informal tone and addressed the reader directly. To reach a higher band, aim to expand slightly more on each bullet point with clearer explanations.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter follows a basic logical organisation with an appropriate opening and closing greeting. However, paragraphing is not utilised effectively, as the entire body of the letter is written as one large block of text. This makes the progression of ideas feel a bit cramped and harder to follow. Cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or overused, such as starting consecutive sentences with 'i hope' and 'however,the', and there are several punctuation and spacing errors between clauses that disrupt the flow. To improve, you should separate your main ideas into distinct paragraphs—such as one for college, one for the job benefits, and one for job suggestions—and use a wider variety of transition words naturally.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your general meaning and express personal advice. You successfully attempted some functional phrases like 'customer service' and 'earn money'. However, the lexical range is limited and repetitive, and there are numerous word choice and spelling errors, such as 'beyyer' for better, 'perpare' for prefer or prepare, 'partical' for practical, 'readind' for reading, 'nowdays' for nowadays, and 'resturants' for restaurants. These errors do not completely impede communication, but they restrict your score. To improve, you should focus on expanding your vocabulary range and paying closer attention to standard spelling and word formation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences with frequent basic errors. There are numerous punctuation and capitalization issues throughout the text, such as starting sentences with lowercase letters ('i hope you doing well.i received you letter') and missing spaces after punctuation marks. You also made several structural errors, including missing auxiliary verbs ('you doing well'), incorrect verb forms ('perpare partical work'), and subject-verb agreement issues. While the meaning remains mostly understandable, the high frequency of grammatical and punctuation errors means that error-free sentences are scarce. Focusing on basic sentence boundaries, capitalization, and correct verb tenses will greatly improve your accuracy.

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

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