Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Dear John,

I hope this letter finds you doing well.I recently recieved a letter from you where you expressed your concern and seemed really confused about pursuing college or getting a job.So,I thought I could help you decide what could be in your best interest.

I believe since you are not very sure about the subjects you would likely enjoy studying it would not be a great idea to jump into college because most importantly you need self awareness about what you exactly want your carrer to look like.

However, I strongly think you should get a job because it helps you gain experience and will give you a clarity on what to do in future.Since, I know you from our childhood I really think adminstrative jobs like front desk coordinator, office clerk or data entry clerk will be in your best interest.Firstly they are not really hard to get in.Secondly, you are great at managing such tasks.

I hope whatever you decide proves to be fruitful.I will wait to hear back from you soon.

Yours faithfully,

Drishti

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You address all three points and maintain a clear recommendation to seek work. The reason college may not suit John—he is unsure which subjects he wants to study—is relevant, and you explain that employment can build experience and help him decide on a future direction. You also suggest several suitable administrative roles and connect them to his ability to manage tasks. These ideas are extended enough to support your advice, although the explanation of why he would not enjoy college focuses mainly on uncertainty about his interests; adding a more personal reason, such as preferring practical learning, would make this point more convincing. Overall, the letter fulfils its purpose and gives John a clear, supported recommendation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter has a clear progression: you introduce John's dilemma, explain why college may not be suitable, recommend work, and close with a friendly sign-off. Paragraphing helps distinguish the main stages of the advice, and linking expressions such as “However,” “Firstly,” and “Secondly” make the reasoning easy to follow. The sequence from gaining experience to considering administrative roles is logical. At times, though, the connectors feel somewhat formulaic, and the long opening sentence carries several ideas at once. You could improve the flow by separating the greeting and context more cleanly and using a wider range of natural links between the reasons and examples. Overall, organisation is clear and cohesive.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task and includes relevant terms such as “pursuing college,” “gain experience,” “administrative jobs,” and “data entry clerk.” These choices communicate the advice clearly, and the range is sufficient to discuss education and employment. Some expressions are less natural or precise, however: “give you a clarity” would be better as “give you greater clarity,” while “not really hard to get in” is informal and awkward for describing job access. There are also spelling errors in “recieved,” “carrer,” and “adminstrative.” Greater accuracy with spelling and collocation, alongside a few more precise phrases, would strengthen your lexical control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including the conditional-style explanation “since you are not very sure … it would not be a great idea” and the reason clause “because it helps you gain experience.” Meaning remains clear throughout. Some grammatical and punctuation errors are present, though they rarely impede understanding. For example, “I hope this letter finds you doing well.I recently…” needs a space after the full stop, and “Since, I know you from our childhood” has an unnecessary comma after “Since” and is not a complete sentence when separated this way. The sentence beginning “I believe since…” would also be clearer with more careful clause punctuation. Proofreading sentence boundaries and punctuation would improve accuracy.

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