Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-11

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 7.5)

Dear Julia,

I hope you're in the pink of health! I know that you're in a dilemna as you can't decide whether you should go to college or try getting a job. I'd say that doing a job would be a better option for you. Firstly, I believe that going to college won't be exciting for you especially because you don't like theoretical studies. Also, as your family is facing financial problems right now, starting a college would not be a wiser choice.

If you find a job, not only would it be helpful in your career but also you can support your family. Working in a professional setting would make you confident and contribute to your growth. Once you become financially stable, you can start part-time studies. This way you don't have to compromise with your dreams.

Since you are a commerce student, I'd suggest looking for entry-level jobs in banking, digital marketing or hospitality industry. As you always enjoy helping people, a customer-facing position might be the most suitable for you.

I hope these suggestions will be helpful for you.

All the best,

Jashan

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

You address all three points and maintain a clear recommendation to seek work. The reasons are relevant and personalised: you connect college with Julia’s dislike of theoretical study and her family’s financial difficulties, then explain how employment could build confidence, support her family and leave open the option of part-time study. Your suggestions—banking, digital marketing, hospitality and customer-facing work—also respond directly to her commerce background and interest in helping people. This is a well-supported response, though some claims remain broad: for example, explain more specifically why the day-to-day experience of college would not suit her, or what skills make one suggested job especially appropriate. A little more development of these points would make the advice more fully convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5

The letter is organised in a clear progression: you introduce the dilemma and your recommendation, give reasons for working, suggest suitable roles, and close warmly. Paragraphing helps the reader distinguish these stages, while links such as “Firstly,” “Also,” “Since,” and “As” make relationships between ideas easy to follow. The reference to Julia’s commerce studies and enjoyment of helping people also connects the job suggestions to the earlier context. Cohesion is effective overall, although the sequence of “Firstly” and “Also” is somewhat list-like, and the final job suggestions could be linked more explicitly to the benefits of gaining experience. Varying transitions and using a brief concluding sentence that draws the advice together would make the progression feel more seamless.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.0

You use a good range of vocabulary for a friendly advice letter, including “in the pink of health,” “financially stable,” “entry-level jobs,” and “customer-facing position.” These choices help convey a warm tone and make the recommendations specific. There are occasional spelling or collocation issues that keep the wording from being consistently precise: “dilemna” should be “dilemma,” “starting a college” is not a natural expression, and “compromise with your dreams” would be better phrased as “compromise your dreams” or “give up on your ambitions.” “Doing a job” is also less idiomatic than “getting a job” or “working.” Greater attention to natural word partnerships and accurate spelling would strengthen an otherwise flexible vocabulary range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.5

You show a useful variety of sentence structures, including the paired construction “not only would it be helpful … but also you can support your family” and the conditional “Once you become financially stable, you can start part-time studies.” Most sentences are clear and correctly formed, and punctuation generally supports the meaning. A few grammatical patterns need closer control. In the “not only … but also” sentence, the clauses are not parallel: use “not only would it help your career, but it would also allow you to support your family.” In “especially because you don't like theoretical studies,” the placement of “especially” is awkward; “particularly as you dislike theoretical subjects” is smoother. These are limited issues, and refining parallel structures and clause phrasing would improve accuracy.

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

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