Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-06

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 Parm,

I hope you are well. I received your letter asking for advice for going to college or try to get a job. I'm grateful that you chose me to help. In my opinion you should definitely try to get a job rather than do further studies.

I'm telling you from my own experience that you wouldn't enjoy going to college now because all our mutual friends are abroad and working in different cities. It is difficult to go to campus without friends. Also, it's a good time to get a job now.

You should prefer a job due to the current situation going on in your family, by doing work you can also support your family. You

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

The response only partially addresses the requirements of the task. While you mention why Parm might not enjoy college and touch briefly on supporting the family, the letter is incomplete because it cuts off mid-sentence and fails to suggest specific types of suitable jobs. Furthermore, the length requirement is not met, as the response contains only 119 words, falling short of the 150-word minimum. To reach a higher band, all bullet points of the prompt must be fully developed and supported, and the full word count must be achieved.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some organisation in the letter, beginning with a standard salutation and an introductory paragraph. However, there is no clear overall progression due to the abrupt ending and lack of paragraphing for individual points. Cohesive devices are basic and repetitive, such as 'Also' and 'because'. To improve, you should group your ideas into distinct paragraphs for each prompt requirement and use a wider range of logical connectors to guide the reader smoothly through your arguments.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for basic communication, featuring common everyday phrases like 'ask for advice', 'different cities', and 'support your family'. However, the range is limited and contains awkward phrasing, such as 'asking for advice for going to college or try to get a job', where 'about whether to go' would be more natural. To achieve a higher score, you should attempt less common lexical items with greater precision and ensure accurate word choice and collocation throughout.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'In my opinion you should definitely try to get a job rather than do further studies.' There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, for instance, the missing preposition in 'asking for advice [on] going to college' and the infinitive mismatch 'or try to get' instead of 'or trying to get'. However, these errors rarely impede communication. To move up, you should increase the proportion of error-free complex sentences and maintain tighter control over grammatical structures.

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

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