Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Dear Mandeep,

I received your letter and think you are confused choosing between collage or a job. According to my perception to should focus on getting a good job, as it is very helpful for your future and family as well.

I know you very well that you do not have much interest in studies , but you are really good in marketing. Last time you told me that one company in your town is ready to provide agood job position in marketing team after watching your presentation. As you have great interest in that I dont think so you would enjoy to go college.

So, after acknowledging your interest in marketing, I would like to suggest that you should choose a job according to your interest and should try to help your family by earning money and success in your future.

So, now you have to focus on finding a good job position in bigger companies, so that you can prove yourself in front of everyone.

Good luck,

Lots of love by Aman

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses all parts of the task, covering why your friend Mandeep might not enjoy college, why getting a job is a good idea, and suggesting a suitable type of job. However, the ideas are somewhat limited and under-developed, placing the response at this level. For instance, while you mention that Mandeep is good at marketing and that a company offered a position, the explanation lacks depth. To move to a higher band, you would need to extend your ideas further by providing more specific examples or detailed consequences of choosing employment over higher education, ensuring every bullet point is fully expanded rather than briefly touched upon.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some organisation present in the letter, with a clear attempt to address the prompts sequentially and use basic paragraph breaks. However, there is a lack of clear overall progression, and the use of cohesive devices is somewhat repetitive or mechanical, relying heavily on transitional phrases like 'So' to start new paragraphs. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as the sudden shift into general advice at the end. To achieve a higher score, you should ensure smoother transitions between ideas and make the logical relationship between sentences more explicit without overusing the same conjunctions or introductory words.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate for the task. You attempt some less common vocabulary related to the topic, such as 'presentation', 'marketing team', and 'earning money', but there are noticeable errors in word choice, word form, and spelling, such as 'collage' instead of 'college', 'agood' spacing error, and awkward phrasing like 'success in your future'. These lexical inaccuracies occasionally cause slight difficulty for the reader. To improve, you need to expand your range of vocabulary and pay closer attention to accurate spelling and natural collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The text demonstrates a mix of simple sentence forms and attempts at complex structures, such as 'According to my perception to should focus on...' and 'As you have great interest in that I dont think so you would enjoy to go college.' However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, including missing prepositions, incorrect verb complements ('enjoy to go' instead of 'enjoy going'), and pronoun confusion. These errors can cause some difficulty for the reader. To reach the next band, you need to increase your control over complex sentence patterns and reduce basic grammatical slips.

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

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