Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-17

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 John,

I hope You are doing well. I come to know that you are planning to get admission in college. I think it is not a good idea. The college you choose is not a good reputed college. Subjects of your interest are not in the academic list. I believe you would not enjoy in this college.

I think you should consider job oppertunity in the city. You should gain experience and then decide, which college suits you? By getting a job yiu have oppertunity to support your family and save money for your higher education.

Many options are available for job, e.g security job, office assistant, receptionist and server at restaurant. These jobs are easy to get because experience is not required for these jobs.

I think you should consider these opportunities. May God bless you with good future. thank you

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear recommendation to seek work, and you address all three requested points: you explain that the college lacks suitable subjects, describe earning money and gaining experience, and list possible jobs. However, the reasons are brief and not fully developed. For example, explain more specifically why the college’s courses would make studying unenjoyable, and connect the suggested roles to John’s interests or abilities. The advice about working first and choosing a college later is relevant, but could be supported with a practical example. The response is also seven words below the required minimum, so it needs a little more development. A fuller explanation would make the letter more complete and persuasive.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter is arranged in a sensible order: you discuss college first, then the benefits of work, and finally suitable jobs. Separate paragraphs help the reader follow these points, and phrases such as “I think” and “By getting a job” signal your position and reasoning. Some connections are less smooth or precise, however. In “You should gain experience and then decide, which college suits you?” the question mark interrupts the advice, and the relationship between gaining experience and choosing a college could be expressed more clearly. The closing also shifts abruptly from job suggestions to “May God bless you” and “thank you.” Use a more natural sign-off and clearer links between ideas to improve the overall flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main advice, with relevant terms such as “experience,” “support your family,” “higher education,” and several job titles. However, the range is limited and some word choices or combinations are inaccurate, which makes parts of the letter sound unnatural. For instance, “get admission in college” and “good reputed college” are not natural expressions in this context, while “job opportunity” is repeated and misspelled as “oppertunity.” “Academic list” is also unclear; “course list” or “subjects offered” would be more precise. Aim to use accurate collocations and vary repeated words, while keeping the friendly tone appropriate for a letter to a friend.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You communicate your main points using mostly straightforward sentences, and you attempt a longer structure in “By getting a job you have opportunity to support your family and save money.” Some grammatical errors remain, including the unnecessary capital in “You,” the missing article in “consider job opportunity,” and the awkward question structure “then decide, which college suits you?” The final “thank you” also needs appropriate capitalisation and punctuation. Most errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your advice, but the sentence patterns are mainly simple and the longer constructions are not consistently controlled. Practise articles, punctuation around embedded questions, and combining related ideas into accurate complex sentences.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.