Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-12

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 4.5)

Dear Hassan i received your later last day in which you inquared what is a better option about joining college our a job.First of all i presume that if you are a brilliant student and have good marks in your matriculation examination moreover your parents can afford expenses of college education i will suggest you to college and continue your studies.

On the other hand if you are belong to poor family that can not meet your college expenses so i presume that it a perfect idea to get a job instead of get admission in college.

I am a great well wisher of you and i would not suggest you any bad way. I presume that it is more convenient to get employment rather than aducation because it become very difficult to earn bred and butter to survive and i pressure that well educated individuals do not have a govt. job on the bases of education and there degree right now.

So it a better option to get a job rather than went to college.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

Your main position is identifiable: you ultimately recommend employment, and you give a reason by referring to the difficulty of paying for college and the need to earn a living. However, the response does not fully carry out the letter task. The first paragraph gives conditional advice to attend college if Hassan has good marks and his parents can afford it, which weakens the requested recommendation. More importantly, you do not explain why he personally would not enjoy college, and you do not suggest any suitable types of job. The reasons offered are also broad and not clearly linked to Hassan’s circumstances. Address each bullet directly, maintain a consistent recommendation, and support it with specific examples relevant to your friend.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has a basic sequence: it considers college, contrasts this with employment, and ends by restating the preference for a job. Paragraph breaks and linking phrases such as “First of all” and “On the other hand” help the reader follow the broad direction. However, the progression is not fully clear because the opening recommends college under certain conditions, while the later paragraphs argue for a job without resolving that contradiction. Several ideas are joined into long sentences, and “moreover” and “so” do not always make the relationship between points clear. Organise the letter around a consistent recommendation, with separate paragraphs for college, the benefits of work, and suitable job options.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “college education,” “expenses,” “employment,” and “well educated individuals.” These choices show an attempt to discuss education and work rather than relying only on very basic words. However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable and sometimes make the message harder to understand: “later” for “letter,” “inquared” for “inquired,” “aducation” for “education,” and “bred and butter” for “bread and butter.” Some phrases are also unnatural, such as “get admission in college” and “on the bases of education.” Check spelling carefully and learn common collocations for employment and education; more precise wording would make your advice clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, including conditional structures such as “if you are a brilliant student … I will suggest you to college.” This shows some effort to express qualifications and contrast. However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction recur. For example, “if you are belong to poor family” combines incompatible verb forms, while “it become very difficult” does not agree with its subject. The opening also runs several clauses together without clear punctuation. Practise accurate conditional patterns (“If you have…, I would…”) and check each sentence for a clear subject and verb. Shorter, correctly punctuated sentences would improve readability.

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

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