Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-02

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 vamshi,

I'm writing this letter to you regarding advice that you asked me on your letter.

I've known you since childhood that you are an wonderful humanbeing from our friends circle. I've seen you bunk classes while everyone else in our class is going to school. On that note you would dislike going to college ,Because secondary education carries alot of courage ,patience , discipline .

On the other hand getting a good job is not a hard task for you . Do you rermember once we went to job fare when we finished our primary education,salesforce company employee liked your communication skills and he gave a feedback to you that you are agood fit for sales job . And i saw you a spark when you heard from the employee .

I reckon sales industry is agood fit for your amazing talking skills that makes your life easy.

yours faithfully

vishwa Reddy .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You give a clear recommendation to seek work and address all three points. The reason college may not suit your friend is linked to his history of bunking classes and the demands of further study, while the job-fair anecdote and the employee’s positive feedback support your view that sales could suit him. However, the college point is not fully clear: “secondary education carries a lot of courage, patience, discipline” does not explain specifically why college would be unenjoyable. The benefits of employment are also mostly implied rather than explained—for example, you could mention earning money, gaining experience, or developing skills. Develop these ideas more directly and support the suggested job types with a little more detail.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable structure: an opening, a paragraph about college, a paragraph supporting employment, and a closing. The contrast marker “On the other hand” helps signal the shift to your recommendation, and the job-fair story gives the advice a logical basis. Some connections are less smooth, however. “On that note” does not clearly link the evidence about bunking classes to the claim about college, and the long job-fair sentence contains several ideas without clear separation. Paragraphing is helpful, but the final suggestion is very brief. Use clearer links between each reason and your advice, and divide longer sentences so the reader can follow the progression more easily.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the situation, including “communication skills,” “sales industry,” and “a good fit,” which helps convey why a sales role might suit your friend. The range is limited, though, and several word choices or forms are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “an wonderful humanbeing,” “job fare,” and “I saw you a spark.” These errors sometimes make the intended meaning less immediate. “Secondary education carries a lot of courage” is also an unclear collocation for describing the demands of college. Aim for precise, natural phrases and check spelling and word forms; for instance, describe the qualities college requires and say that you noticed your friend’s enthusiasm for sales.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including “I've seen you bunk classes while everyone else in our class is going to school” and the sentence describing the employee’s feedback. The main ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. For example, “I've known you since childhood that you are” uses an incorrect clause pattern; “I've known you since childhood, and I know you are…” would be clearer. There are also issues with articles and sentence boundaries, as in “an wonderful humanbeing” and the long sentence beginning “Do you remember once…”. Capitalisation and punctuation are inconsistent, particularly after commas and in “Because”. Practise accurate clause structures and break long sentences into manageable units.

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

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