Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-05

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 Chinky,

I hope you are doing well. I want to inform you that I recieved your letter last week about the confussion between to go to the school or try to get a job. As I know you from my childhood, you are extremely good in study and you was always a school topper.

I want to explain you that you would not enjoy going to school beacuse colleges also providing online study rather than offline. As I know you'r very an intelligent person you can do study online at home despite by going to the college. You would never like to wasting your precious time.

As you'r family financially condition is not good, So it's better option If you can join the job. You can save money for the future. You have keen interest in ITI Technology, So it's better you can find ITI vacany by online. It will also help to gain a knowlegde and experience in this field.

I would look to hearing from you.

Best wishes,

simar kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, successfully covering why college might not be enjoyed, why getting a job is beneficial, and suggesting a suitable type of job. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat uneven. For instance, the reason regarding why she would not enjoy college shifts slightly into discussing online learning rather than fully exploring the campus or academic experience itself. Similarly, the job suggestion touches upon ITI Technology, but the explanation remains basic. To move higher, all bullet points would need to be fully extended with deeper reasoning and richer context throughout the letter.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear friendly opening and closing, and the information is divided into logical paragraphs. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. The transitions between sentences rely heavily on basic connectors, and referencing is not always completely clear, such as how ideas flow between the second and third paragraphs. Paragraphing is present and generally appropriate for an informal letter, but to achieve a higher score, the progression of ideas would need to feel smoother and more natural, utilizing a wider range of cohesive devices without repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate basic concepts about work and study. There are attempts at less common vocabulary items and field-specific terms like 'ITI Technology', but these are accompanied by noticeable errors in word choice, such as 'confussion', 'recieved', and 'vacany'. Spelling mistakes and awkward phrasing occur throughout the text, such as 'do study online' and 'gain a knowlegde'. These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score because precision and control over spelling and word forms are inconsistent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, attempting structures such as conditional and reason clauses. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that impact the overall accuracy. Issues appear in subject-verb agreement and article usage, such as 'you was always', 'colleges also providing', 'you'r very an intelligent person', and 'as you'r family financially condition'. While the meaning remains mostly clear to the reader despite these flaws, the high frequency of grammatical slips prevents the response from achieving a higher level of structural control.

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