Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · 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 4.0)

Hi Dear friend I hope you feeling better and your family have great job. From several days your absent from college. I heard about you that you are going for searching good job.

From my perspective you should have been to complete your study first owing to leaving the study you will be free now a days. These are wasting time and and you will have been boring.

I knew that you are facing the challenges life thanks to your hard life you leave the study I feel extremely hurt. I'm regarding to write a great idea for good job

you should have to join security officer

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5

The response fails to fully meet the requirements of the task. First, it is significantly under length, containing only 107 words compared to the required minimum of 150 words. Additionally, the prompt asks you to advise a friend on whether to go to college or get a job, and specifically to recommend that they get a job. While you briefly mention that they should get a job and suggest a 'security officer' role, your ideas are severely underdeveloped. Furthermore, the letter contains contradictory statements, such as saying 'you should have been to complete your study first' while simultaneously suggesting they look for a job due to leaving college. Therefore, Task Achievement is penalised for insufficient length and partial development of bullet points, placing it at a Band 4.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The organization of the letter is very disjointed and difficult to follow. The text lacks clear paragraphing, grouping unrelated ideas together without logical transitions. Sentences such as 'From several days your absent from college' and 'I'm regarding to write a great idea for good job' break the flow of communication. Cohesive devices are either missing or misused, and referencing is frequently unclear, making it hard for the reader to understand the progression of your thoughts. There is no clear overall progression, which aligns this text with Band 4 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive. Phrases such as 'good job', 'wasting time', and 'hard life' show a limited range of expression. There are also frequent word choice and collocation errors, such as 'your absent from college' instead of 'you have been absent', and 'you are going for searching' instead of 'you are looking'. These lexical errors and the lack of less common or precise vocabulary restrict the communication, resulting in a Band 4.0 for Lexical Resource.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

Grammatical control is weak throughout the response. The text contains numerous severe errors that frequently impede understanding, such as 'I hope you feeling better', 'you should have been to complete your study first', and 'you will have been boring'. The range of grammatical structures is very limited, relying heavily on faulty attempts at complex or modal structures. Punctuation is also neglected, with missing periods and awkward sentence boundaries. These pervasive errors mean the grammar sits firmly within the Band 4.0 category.

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

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