Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-17

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 Sir/Madam,

I am writing this letter because I have seen your online posting about to provide a language tuition to your two kids for a year.

I was a school teacher for past 5 years in Australia. My duty was to taught subjects like history and maths for 5 to 7 grade students. In addition, I am fluent in english language as well.

However, I have to quit this job because my house is very far from school and I have to travel more and spend more money in travelling.

Despite all of these, I am keen in cleaning so, after assign self work to your kids I can clean your house like mopping and sweeping before retuning to you at home.

I have only two reasons for this doing is your place is close to my house and I love to work with kids.

I would appeciate your positive response on this letter.

Best regards,

Krish

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all three bullet points: suitability, additional help, and reasons for applying. However, the development of these points is somewhat limited. The explanation of suitability is clear, but the suggestion to clean the house is slightly unusual for a language tutor role, which may affect the professional tone expected in a formal letter. The reasons for wanting the job are stated, but the explanation regarding the commute is a bit repetitive. To improve, ensure that the ideas are more fully extended and tailored to the context of a professional childcare/tutoring position.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, and the progression of ideas is generally clear. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and limited. Phrases like 'Despite all of these' and 'In addition' are used, but the flow between sentences could be smoother. The referencing is sometimes slightly awkward, such as 'reasons for this doing'. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that transitions between paragraphs are more natural would help elevate the score in this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks range and precision. There are several instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'assign self work' and 'retuning to you at home'. Some word choices are slightly informal or imprecise, such as 'quit this job' instead of 'resigned' or 'left'. While the meaning is generally clear, the student relies on a limited set of common words. To achieve a higher band, the student should focus on using more precise collocations and a wider range of vocabulary related to professional settings.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('My duty was to taught') and prepositional errors ('keen in cleaning'). The sentence structures are mostly simple or compound, with limited attempts at complex structures. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the errors in verb tense and word form are noticeable and occasionally distract the reader. To improve, the student should focus on mastering basic verb forms and ensuring that sentence structures are grammatically sound before attempting more complex patterns.

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.