Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-19

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 Ashu,

I hope you are doing well. Yesterday evening, I received a letter written by you that shows you want advice from me on whether to opt for a job or to continous the study. In my opinion, instead of getting admission to a college, you should go for employment. Because not only will a job help you get work experience, but it will also provide you with an opportunity to rejuvenate yourself from the pressure of studies for a while.

The reason behind selecting this option for you is my personal experience. When I took admission in college just after completing my secondary school, i thought i would enjoy the college life but i was wrong. Before the secong sesson started i was exhausted and tired. Then i realised i should have take the break after schooling.

I know that you did your internship in a company as an engineer. I think you should continou this job. Because you already have experience in that and it would be si

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all parts of the task prompt effectively. You adopted an appropriate casual yet advisory tone suitable for a letter to a friend. You successfully addressed the first bullet point by explaining why he would not enjoy college, drawing on personal experience of exhaustion. You then addressed the second point by highlighting how a job provides work experience and a mental break from studies. Finally, you covered the third point by suggesting he continue his previous engineering internship. The ideas are relevant and well-developed, although the final sentence cuts off abruptly ("it would be si"). Overall, the content fully meets the requirements of a General Training Task 1 response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter maintains a clear overall logical organization, moving smoothly from the opening pleasantries to your personal advice and specific job suggestions. You used appropriate cohesive devices such as "In my opinion," "instead of," and "Because," which help connect your ideas. Paragraphing is used adequately to separate the introduction from your personal experiences and recommendations. However, referencing is occasionally a bit mechanical, and the abrupt ending disrupts the logical flow of the final paragraph. Despite this minor flaw, the progression of ideas remains easy to follow throughout the majority of the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

Your vocabulary range is adequate for this task, successfully conveying your message to the reader. You attempted some less common phrases such as "rejuvenate yourself," "exhausted and tired," and "employment." However, there are notable word choice and spelling errors throughout the text, such as "continous" instead of "continue," "secong sesson" instead of "second session," and "have take" instead of "have taken." These lexical and spelling mistakes do not heavily impede communication, but they prevent you from achieving a higher band score in this category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrated a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as the concessive structure in "When I took admission in college just after completing my secondary school, i thought i would enjoy the college life..." There are, however, several grammatical errors and punctuation issues present, including capitalization oversights ("i thought i would"), tense inconsistencies ("should have take"), and incomplete sentence formation at the very end of the text. While these errors are noticeable and detract from the overall accuracy, the majority of your simple sentences are clear and understandable, allowing the reader to grasp your meaning without significant strain.

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

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