Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-02
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 Kashvi,
Hoping for radiant health and good spirits. I am glad you asked me for an advice about whether you should go to college or look for a job. Personally, I think getting a job would be a better choice for your field.
I don't think you would particularly enjoy college life because you have always preferred practical activities to studying from books. You often told me that theoretical subjects are boring. College requires a lot of independent study and assignments, which may not suit your personality.
On other hand, getting a job would give you opportunity to gain practical experience and on-site exposer. Apart from that you will become financially independent and getting opportunity to learn teamwork, time management and real world career availabilities.
I think you would be well suited to a job in sales or customer service because you are friendly and enjoy talking to people. Another possibility would be working in a hotel or travel company, where you could meet different people and use your communication skills.
I hope this advice helps. Let me know that you decide, and we can catch up soon.
Yours lovingly,
Krupa.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.5 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0
You successfully address all parts of the prompt by explaining why your friend would not enjoy college, why getting a job is a good idea, and suggesting suitable types of work. Your position is clear throughout the letter. The ideas are generally well extended and supported, such as when you mention that your friend prefers practical activities and give specific job recommendations like sales, customer service, or hospitality. However, there is a slight tendency to over-generalise regarding college life, and some points, such as real-world career availabilities, could be extended further to reach the highest standard. Overall, the requirements of the task are met well with relevant and coherent ideas throughout.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
Your letter shows a clear logical organisation and progression from the opening greeting through the body paragraphs to the closing remarks. You manage paragraphing appropriately, dedicating distinct paragraphs to each main point requested in the prompt. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Apart from that', 'On other hand', and 'Another possibility' to guide the reader. However, cohesion feels slightly mechanical at times, and there are minor referencing slips, such as omitting an article in 'On other hand'. These features reflect solid overall coherence while pointing the way toward more flexible and natural paragraph transitions.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'financial independence', 'theoretical subjects', and 'practical experience'. However, there are a few noticeable word-choice and spelling errors that prevent a higher score. For instance, you wrote 'an advice' instead of 'advice', which is an uncountable noun, and you misspelled 'exposer' instead of 'exposure'. Additionally, phrases like 'real world career availabilities' sound a bit unnatural in collocation. These minor slips do not impede communication, but eliminating them requires closer attention to word forms and natural collocations.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5
You use a good mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over structures such as conditional ideas and subordinate clauses like 'because you have always preferred practical activities to studying from books.' There are some errors in grammar, such as missing articles ('would give you opportunity' instead of 'would give you an opportunity') and minor prepositional inconsistencies. However, these errors are relatively infrequent and rarely impede communication. To move up to higher levels, you would need to produce a higher proportion of error-free complex sentences and refine your control over articles and noun phrases.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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