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 samantha,

I hope you are doing well. I know this is really a tough situation in life and I have also been through this before but if you think logically and maturely, I think doing job is comparatively better as there is no point of studying further if you don't aquire the skill set from it whereas if you focus on the hands on practice and skills, you don't need a degree or qualification to excell in life overall. I would suggest you to start searching for jobs as soon as possible instead of enrolling to a college, that would make you familiar with the work culture and also help you in being independent as a person. The positive aspect are way too much if you start working earlier as you will start earning in the initial stage of life and you won't be financially be dependent on your parents at the most crucial time. I hope you understand my point of view. All the best for your future

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response covers all parts of the task minimally, touching upon why college might not be enjoyable, why getting a job is a good idea, and suggesting suitable types of work. However, the ideas are presented in a very generalized and limited manner. For instance, the suggestion for suitable types of job is extremely vague, merely advising the friend to 'start searching for jobs' without actually naming any specific roles or industries. The position is stated, but the ideas lack sufficient expansion, keeping the response at a basic level of task fulfillment.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is some basic organization to the letter, starting with a friendly greeting and flowing through the writer's arguments. However, the text suffers from a lack of proper paragraphing, as the entire body of the letter is written as a single, dense block of text. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'and' and 'if' to link long, sweeping clauses. Referencing is occasionally unclear, which disrupts the logical flow and makes the overall arrangement feel somewhat mechanical.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully communicating the main points to the reader. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'maturely', 'comparatively', and 'independent', though there are some word-choice and spelling errors, such as spelling 'acquire' as 'aquire' and 'excel' as 'excell'. These minor inaccuracies do not impede communication, and the range of vocabulary remains sufficient to convey the intended message effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some capability to construct longer sentences. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, such as missing capitalization ('samantha'), run-on sentences lacking appropriate punctuation breaks, and awkward phrasing like 'doing job' instead of 'getting a job' or 'working'. There are also minor prepositional inaccuracies, such as 'enrolling to a college'. These errors require the reader to occasionally reread certain parts, though they rarely obscure the overall meaning.

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

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