Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-22
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 5.0)
Dear Harjot Kaur,
How are you? i jope so you doing well. Today i received your letter, regarding to want yo yo school or try yo get a job. if i suugest you try to do the both things. Because if you did not go to school you never enjoy your school life and you feel regret about that in the future, school life is very important for everyone life and we learn lots of things in school. if i talk about for job then uou can try to find part time job. so, that you can manage your expenses also. i know that its very difficult to manage the both at the same time but i know that if you think anything in your mind then you can do the best. and i am also study as well as doing a part time job.
i know you can also do this.
After deciding your final decision tell me what things you decided.
Your Friend
Navpreet Kaur
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
You successfully covered all parts of the prompt, addressing the letter format appropriately. You mentioned that going to college might lead to regret about missing school life, explained that getting a job helps manage expenses, and suggested trying a part-time job. However, the instructions specifically asked you to advise your friend that they should get a job and state why they would *not* enjoy college. Your response actually advises your friend to do *both* college and a job ('try to do the both things'), which contradicts the premise of the prompt where you are supposed to argue for getting a job instead of college. Because of this misinterpretation of the core scenario, the task response is limited. Band score: 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The letter follows a basic friendly structure, beginning with a salutation ('Dear Harjot Kaur') and closing with a sign-off. However, the organisation of ideas lacks logical progression. The response is written as a single, dense block paragraph, making it difficult for the reader to follow the flow of ideas. Cohesive devices are minimal and basic, heavily relying on conjunctions like 'and' and 'because'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly with pronoun usage and abrupt shifts between ideas, such as jumping from school life directly into part-time work without proper transitions. Band score: 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, frequently relying on everyday words like 'school', 'job', 'things', and 'time'. There are several noticeable word choice and spelling errors, such as 'jope so you doing well' instead of 'hope you are doing well', 'regarding to want yo yo school' instead of 'regarding wanting to go to school', and 'suugest' instead of 'suggest'. While the language is minimally adequate to convey a general meaning, the limited range and frequent inaccuracies constrain the score. Band score: 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
You attempted a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar and punctuation is weak throughout the response. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as missing articles and incorrect verb forms ('i and also study as well as doing', 'After deciding your final decision tell me what things you decided'). Punctuation is also problematic, marked by run-on sentences joined by commas instead of full stops, as well as lower-case 'i' pronouns. These frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader. Band score: 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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