Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-05

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You have seen an advertisement from a couple, who live in Australia, for someone to teach their two children your language for a year. Write a letter to the couple. In your letter

• explain why you think you would be suitable for the job
• say what else you could do for the family
• give your reasons for wanting the job

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear .................. ,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Mr. & Mrs. SMITH!

I am writing to apply for the position of teaching your two children my Native language for 1 year. I believe I would be an excellent candidate for this job because, I am patient, responsible and passionate about helping children to learn.

I am a qualified person. I have very strong communication skills. I also enjoy spending time with children. I am confident that the children would feel comfortable with me .I can explain things in simple and interesting way. I can help your children to develop their learning ,reading and writing skills while making the learning process enjoyable.

In addition to teaching your children I can also help in some house chores, preparing simple meals and help children to do their home work or daily activities whenever they needed.

I would like this job because It would give me a chance to understand Australian culture also, help improving my English. I can also share my tradition and language to your family. It will beneficial for both of us.

Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to hear from you soon.

yours faithfully,

Syeda Ulya

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: explaining your suitability, offering additional help, and stating your reasons for wanting the job. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter, and the ideas are relevant. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat basic. For example, while you mention being 'patient' and 'responsible', providing a specific example of a past experience or a teaching method would have strengthened your application. The letter covers the requirements well, but to reach a higher band, you should aim to expand on your points with more detail and specific evidence of your capabilities.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is logically organized, with each paragraph focusing on a specific requirement of the task. You use basic cohesive devices like 'In addition to' and 'I also' to link your ideas. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes a bit mechanical, and the paragraphing could be more refined. The transition between the introduction and the body paragraphs is clear, but the overall structure would benefit from a more sophisticated use of linking words to create a smoother progression of ideas. The letter is easy to follow, which is a positive aspect of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, using words like 'passionate', 'qualified', and 'beneficial'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'help improving' instead of 'help improve' and 'share my tradition and language to your family' instead of 'with your family'. While your vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the variety and precision required for a higher band. To improve, try to incorporate more specific professional terminology related to teaching and childcare, and pay closer attention to common collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'whenever they needed' (should be 'need'), 'look forward to hear' (should be 'hearing'), and punctuation issues like the misplaced exclamation mark in the salutation and spacing errors before periods. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. You should focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of gerunds after certain phrases like 'look forward to'. Proofreading your work for these small, recurring errors will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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