Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-14

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 5.5)

Dear kiran,

I hope you are doing well.I am happy to received your letter and you need advice from me.However, I would like to suggest that you should try to get a job rather than go to college.

As you are in new place and it is difficult to make new friends in college .As you told me earlier, you can get study material online .So, there is no need to go to college and it can also save your transporation bills.

You can apply for a job which is helpful as well as you can easily manage your expenses with it.You will get a chance to improve your communication skills .

There are various types of job which would be suitable for you .You can try in customer service , it is helpful in future as well because you have experience to deal with customers .There are variety of options in other sectors too .All the very best for your future.Take care.

Best wishes,

Raman.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three requested points and make your recommendation clear: “you should try to get a job rather than go to college.” You give relevant reasons, including difficulty making friends in a new place, online study materials, saving transport costs, and gaining communication skills. You also suggest customer service work and explain its value through experience dealing with customers. However, the reasons your friend might not enjoy college are somewhat narrow, and the job benefits and suitable roles are not developed equally; for example, you could explain more specifically why customer service matches your friend’s interests or abilities, and suggest another suitable role. This would make the advice more fully supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter follows a sensible sequence: greeting and recommendation, reasons to avoid college, benefits of employment, and a job suggestion before the closing. This makes the overall message easy to follow. You also use linking expressions such as “However,” “As you told me earlier,” and “because” to connect ideas. At times, though, the links feel mechanical or the relationship between ideas is not fully clear. For instance, the point about being in a new place is placed beside the difficulty of making friends without explaining how this would affect your friend’s enjoyment of college. Paragraphing and spacing are also inconsistent. Grouping each main purpose into a clear paragraph and using more precise transitions would improve progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for giving personal advice, and phrases such as “communication skills,” “manage your expenses,” and “deal with customers” communicate relevant ideas. You also use some task-appropriate expressions, including “apply for a job” and “study material online.” However, several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, which limits precision: “happy to received your letter” and “try in customer service” do not sound natural, while “helpful” is used broadly without specifying the benefit. There are also spelling errors such as “transporation.” Aim to use more precise phrases for employment benefits and job types, and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple sentences and longer structures, including “As you told me earlier, you can get study material online” and a sentence explaining the value of customer service experience. The main ideas remain understandable, but some errors in verb forms, sentence boundaries, and punctuation reduce accuracy. For example, “I am happy to received” should use the past participle after “happy to,” and “As you are in new place and it is difficult…” is a dependent clause presented as a complete sentence. Several sentences also run together because spaces after full stops are missing or punctuation is misplaced. Practise combining clauses into complete sentences and checking verb patterns, articles, and punctuation before finishing.

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