Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-28

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

A museum near your home is looking for people to do part-time voluntary/unpaid work. You would like to do some voluntary/unpaid work at the museum. Write a letter to the museum director to apply for the voluntary/unpaid work. In your letter

• explain why you want to do voluntary/unpaid work at the museum
• describe some skills and qualities you have that would be useful
• give details of when you would be available for work

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to express my interest to the volunteer position which was recently advertised in the newspaper. Being a student of archeology, I am excited to work part-time at museum, and it will help me to gain relevant experience to my portfolio.

It is really essential to have a great communication skills and organizing delicate antiques. It really aligns with my previous work experience at an antique shop in Toronto as a customer service associate. With 2.5 years of experience, I would be able to add some values at the museum.

Additionally, this position is a part-time, so I can manage with my studies. I would be fully available on Saturday, Monday and Wednesday. However, on Friday, I can work in the evening and on Tuesday and Thursday, I can work in the morning.

Looking forward to hear back from you.

Yours faithfully,

Nilay M Borsadiya

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task: explaining your motivation, describing your skills, and providing your availability. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter. However, the development of your ideas is somewhat brief. For instance, while you mention your background in archaeology, you could have expanded slightly on how this specifically benefits the museum's current needs. The letter is clear and the purpose is immediately apparent to the reader. To reach a higher band, ensure that each point is fully extended with more descriptive detail, which would help demonstrate a more sophisticated engagement with the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter follows a logical structure, with clear paragraphing separating the introduction, body, and conclusion. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Additionally' and 'However' to link your ideas. While the flow is generally smooth, the progression between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words to show more complex relationships between your experience and your availability. The referencing is clear, and the letter is easy to follow from start to finish, meeting the requirements for a coherent response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'archaeology', 'delicate antiques', and 'relevant experience'. There are some minor collocation errors, such as 'interest to the volunteer position' (should be 'interest in') and 'add some values' (should be 'add value'). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise word choice. To improve, focus on learning common collocations and prepositions associated with professional correspondence to enhance the naturalness of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'Being a student of archeology, I am excited...' and 'However, on Friday, I can work...'. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'the volunteer position' (should be 'the volunteer position' or 'a volunteer position') and 'Looking forward to hear back' (should be 'Looking forward to hearing back'). Despite these errors, your meaning is always clear, and the grammar does not cause difficulty for the reader. Increasing the frequency of error-free complex sentences will help you achieve a higher score.

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

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