Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-27

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, ABC

I hope you are doing well in your life. I received your letter last week and I hear you are very confused between your college and job. why would you not feeling better going to college? If you will finish your studies first than you will get field job which is better than now working for low wages.

I am agree with you getting job for your daily expenses is good idea but working part time with study is better option for your future else you will work your whole life for minimum wages at lower position or labour work which is not good for future growth.

I recommend you to take course in healthcare stream which is good for better future and also you can get a part time job in health care field which divert you to getting knowledge from college.

I look forward to hear from you soon.

Best regards.

XYZ

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully covers all parts of the prompt, addressing the friend's dilemma about going to college versus getting a job. You state your opinion clearly right from the beginning that getting a job is a good idea. You also explain why college might not be enjoyable or immediately beneficial, mentioning potential financial struggles and low wages, and you suggest suitable job types in the healthcare sector. However, some of the ideas are slightly confused and contradictory, such as initially suggesting a job instead of college, but later advising a healthcare course alongside a part-time job. To reach a higher band, the development of ideas needs to be more consistent and clearly articulated throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, following a standard informal letter layout with a suitable greeting and sign-off. The progression of ideas is generally understandable, moving from the initial reaction to your recommendation of employment and finally specific career suggestions. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition 'If you will finish your studies first than you will get field job' lacks smooth logical flow, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the pronoun use in 'which divert you to getting knowledge from college'. Paragraph breaks are present, but the internal links between sentences need greater precision.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your main points about work, wages, and studying. You attempt some less common vocabulary such as 'minimum wages', 'future growth', and 'healthcare stream'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as 'confused between your college and job' instead of 'confused about whether to go to college or get a job', and 'I am agree' instead of 'I agree'. Spelling is generally accurate, but the lexical inaccuracies occasionally restrict precision and indicate a limited control of collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting conditionals and relative clauses such as 'If you will finish your studies first than you will get field job'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb tenses, prepositions, and article usage. Examples include 'why would you not feeling better going to college?', 'getting job', and 'I look forward to hear from you soon' instead of 'hearing'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are persistent enough to demonstrate limited grammatical control and prevent the writing from achieving a higher band score.

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

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