Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Dear Ama,

I hope you are doing well. I received your letter and noted what you mentioned about going to college or trying to get a job opportunity. From my side, you had better not go to college because most of the time in college, you need to study by yourself, and talking with old friends and wasting each other's time. It will be fine if you choose any practical subject. I prefer to get a job is very essential at this time. You can carry on your studies online and try to find a good job relevant to your major skills and subject. It is very beneficial for your future.

I would suggest that there are a lot of opportunities in my company if you like to start your career; send me your resume. I will talk with human resources, and they will provide you with paid training and issue an authentic certificate.

I look forward to your response.

Best Wishes,

Sam

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by explaining why college might not be enjoyable, stating why getting a job is beneficial, and suggesting a suitable type of job. However, some ideas remain limited and under-developed, which keeps the task achievement at this level. For instance, the explanation of why the friend would not enjoy college is somewhat abrupt, stating that you need to 'study by yourself' and mentioning 'talking with old friends and wasting each other's time' without fully expanding on these thoughts. The suggestion of a job is partially integrated through the offer in your own company, fulfilling the requirements, but to reach a higher level, each bullet point needs more extended elaboration and clearer supporting examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter presents a recognizable overall structure with an appropriate opening greeting ('Dear Ama') and a polite closing. There is some organization of ideas into logical paragraphs, separating the advice against college from the job suggestions. However, there is no clear overall progression and cohesive devices are sometimes inadequate or repetitive. For example, transitions between sentences can feel disjointed, such as moving abruptly from discussing practical subjects to stating 'I prefer to get a job is very essential at this time.' Referencing and paragraphing are basic, and to achieve a higher band, you would need to use a wider range of cohesive ties more naturally and ensure smoother logical links from one sentence to the next.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate for the task. You demonstrate the ability to use everyday phrases correctly, such as 'send me your resume' and 'issue an authentic certificate.' However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices that reflect a restricted range. For instance, the phrase 'I prefer to get a job is very essential at this time' contains a collocation and word-choice error, as 'prefer' does not fit this grammatical and semantic context. To move up to a higher band, you should incorporate a wider variety of less common lexical items, maintain better control over word forms, and ensure that collocations are natural and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response displays a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and basic coordination. When attempts are made at more complex structures, they are often faulty, such as in the sentence 'From my side, you had better not go to college because most of the time in college, you need to study by yourself, and talking with old friends and wasting each other's time,' which suffers from a lack of parallel structure and grammatical awkwardness. Frequent errors in grammar, prepositions, and clause connections appear throughout the text. To improve your grammatical range and accuracy, you need to practise combining clauses more accurately and increase your control over complex sentence forms.

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

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