Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-23

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, Emma.

I'm writing regarding the last latter you sent me to advise you either to go to college or get a job. you're my very go friend, i will be very sincere and blunt to you and life, education is very important for your growth generally.

Considering the fact that your family is not financially stable to train you in college and your sick mother, going to school will mean abandoning your sick mother which will be a Big distraction in the college and paying your tuition fee will eventually be difficult.

i will advise you to get a job and save money that will be used to sponsor your academics and also treat your mom ill health, presently the sanco petroleum company round my neighborhood are hiring works without college degree and I they gave me the privilege to summit a trusted individual for employment. you don't have to worry about the difficulty in searching for a good job because I will definitely submit your name and their salary is very good.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three points and make your recommendation clear: you advise Emma to work rather than attend college. The reasons about her family’s finances and her mother’s illness explain why college may be difficult, and the petroleum-company opportunity gives your advice a personal, practical basis. However, the point about why she would not enjoy college is less fully addressed: you explain the likely financial and family pressures, but do not clearly describe how these would affect her enjoyment. The job benefits are more developed, especially saving for future study and helping her mother, while the suggested job types are limited to one company and a general employment opportunity. Add a couple of suitable roles and explain why they fit her.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a generally understandable progression: you introduce the reason for writing, discuss the difficulties of college, and then recommend work and describe an opportunity. Paragraph breaks help separate the main stages. Some connections are less clear or feel mechanical, however. The opening combines several ideas in one long sentence, and the final paragraph moves from saving money to a specific company and then to salary without clearly separating these points. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, as in “their salary,” where the reader has to infer who “their” refers to. Use shorter, more focused paragraphs and link each reason to its consequence so the advice develops more smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main advice, including relevant terms such as “financially stable,” “tuition fee,” “sponsor your academics,” and “employment.” There are also attempts at more specific language, such as “abandoning your sick mother” and “a trusted individual,” although some choices are inaccurate or unnatural in context. Spelling and word-choice slips—including “latter” for “letter,” “works” for “workers,” and “summit” for “submit”—sometimes distract from the message. Phrases such as “very go friend” and “mom ill health” are also unclear or awkward. Aim for accurate, natural collocations and check spelling carefully; this will make your advice sound more fluent and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including the conditional idea “going to school will mean abandoning your sick mother” and the explanation beginning “Considering the fact that…”. These structures help you express reasons and consequences, but some sentences are overloaded and contain errors in sentence boundaries, capitalisation, and clause structure. For example, “you're my very go friend, i will be very sincere…” joins separate ideas without appropriate punctuation, while “I they gave me the privilege” disrupts the sentence structure. There are also inconsistent capital letters at the start of sentences and for “I.” Use full stops to divide long sentences, and check that each clause has a clear subject and verb. More accurate control of these forms would improve readability.

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

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