Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-03

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 mohan,

I hope you are doing well,I recently received your letter i read it.I know you are planing to get a enrollment in college.As you are my close friend i whould recommend to you dont go to college.While you should start working in IT sector gain experience which is helps in the future

As soon as you start working you will get salary you can build a house for your parents.Getting a job is good idea for you.it will give you more confidence although you can use this working experience in abroad.In addition IT sector is highley demanding over all in the world

However i was reading a newspaper i saw bell tech company is hiring.They have a vacancy for you if you want you can start as a freasher.i whould suggest you to you should start working as admin.

I hope you will understand my point.

Thank you

Yours faithfully

Karan

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt minimally, touching upon why college might not be enjoyed, why a job is beneficial, and suggesting a specific job type. However, the ideas are limited and under-developed, keeping the response at this band level. For instance, the point about why Mohan would not enjoy college is stated abruptly with 'dont go to college' without elaboration on the drawbacks of higher education. Similarly, the suggestion of the IT sector and the admin role is introduced quickly without expanding on why this specifically suits the friend's skills or interests. While the letter format is attempted, the development of each bullet point lacks the depth and extension required for higher bands, resulting in a partial treatment of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some organisation evident in the letter structure, such as the standard opening and closing conventions, but the response lacks clear overall progression. Paragraphing is handled awkwardly, with some sentences grouped together without adequate separation of ideas, such as blending the career advice with salary benefits in a single block. Cohesive devices are basic, repetitive, and at times inaccurate, for example relying heavily on comma splices and run-on sentences like 'I recently received your letter i read it.I know you are planing to get a enrollment in college.' Referencing and logical transitions between sentences are frequently faulty, making the flow disjointed and requiring the reader to work harder to follow the writer's train of thought.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The writer attempts some less common terms related to the workplace and job hunting, such as 'IT sector', 'vacancy', and 'freasher', but these attempts are marred by noticeable spelling errors and awkward word choices, including 'planing', 'highley', 'freasher', and 'enrollment' (where 'enrolled' or 'admission' would be more natural). Word choice inaccuracies occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader, such as stating 'you can use this working experience in abroad' instead of 'abroad'. Overall, the lexical range lacks the precision and flexibility needed to convey precise shades of meaning, and recurring spelling mistakes restrict the score to this level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer demonstrates a very limited range of structures, relying mostly on simple sentences joined incorrectly with commas rather than proper conjunctions or full stops. Attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty, leading to structural confusion, such as 'As you are my close friend i whould recommend to you dont go to college' and 'As soon as you start working you will get salary you can build a house for your parents.' There are frequent errors in verb forms, missing articles, punctuation, and prepositions within grammatical patterns, such as the omission of auxiliary verbs ('which is helps') and incorrect capitalisation throughout the text. These frequent errors cause noticeable difficulty for the reader and reflect a lack of control over basic grammatical structures.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.