Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-09

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 6.0)

Dear Rupali,

I hope you're doing well!

I got your letter yesterday, in which you seemed confused about whether to continue the study or do a job. I 'm pretty sure after five years of gap it'd be hard to start going to college again for studying.

From my perspective, it would be a great opportunity for you to continue your job as a Bookkeeper because you have been in the accounting profession for the last 2 years. However, suddenly leaving employment would put an excessive burden since you're the sole earner in your family.

Since you have pretty good experience, if you apply outside, you'll not only get a well-paid job but also get a higher rank job. I read the Times of Canada newspaper a couple of days ago, in which they published that in the next two months most of the companies would be looking for professional accountants, so you'd be one of them who gets a job.

Give my regards to the elders and love to the younger ones.

Yours friend,

Anamika

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you recommend that Rupali continue working rather than return to college. You address the college point by noting the five-year study gap, and explain the benefits of work through her bookkeeping experience, family responsibilities and possible demand for accountants. However, the task asks why she would not enjoy college, while your response mainly explains why restarting might be difficult; develop this by linking it to her preferences or circumstances. You also suggest continuing as a bookkeeper and applying for accounting roles, but could give a clearer range of suitable job types and explain why each would suit her. These unevenly developed points keep the response from being fully developed across all parts of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter has a recognisable structure, with an opening, advice in separate paragraphs and an appropriate friendly closing. The ideas generally progress from the college decision to work experience and job prospects. However, the progression within the advice is not always smooth: the first paragraph raises the study gap, while the next shifts to continuing her current job without clearly connecting the two. The paragraph beginning “Since you have pretty good experience” repeats the experience point and introduces a newspaper prediction rather abruptly. Use clearer links to show how each reason supports your recommendation, and organise the job suggestions separately from the explanation of why work is beneficial. This would make the overall arrangement easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for giving personal advice, including “sole earner,” “accounting profession,” “well-paid” and “professional accountants.” These expressions help communicate the financial and career reasons for working. Some choices are less natural or precise, such as “continue the study,” “higher rank job” and “you’d be one of them who gets a job.” “Excessive burden” is also rather formal for a friendly letter. Aim for more natural collocations and a consistent conversational tone, while retaining useful topic-specific vocabulary. The meaning remains clear overall, but more accurate phrasing would make your advice sound more fluent and convincing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You show a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including the conditional structure “if you apply outside, you'll not only get … but also get …” and the clause beginning “in which they published.” Most of the message is understandable, and punctuation generally supports the meaning. Some errors remain, such as “I 'm” with an unnecessary space, “after five years of gap,” and “Yours friend.” The sentence about the newspaper is also awkwardly constructed, making the relationship between the publication and its prediction less clear. Review article use and possessive or agreement patterns, and break up or reshape longer sentences when their clauses become difficult to control. This would build on the generally clear communication already present.

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

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