Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-14

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 read an advertisement in the local newspaper that you are looking for volunteers to work in the museum. I am interested in this part-time job. Currently, I have my summer break from my college, therefore I have sufficient time to participate in unpaid work.

I have brilliant communication skills and customer service experience. Firstly, I have ability to speak various languages such as English, Punjabi, and French. Secondly, I worked in a cafe for 2 years where I learned how to communicate with people. Lastly, I have done social service course in my college that taught me basic social and ethical skills.

I am available from next week. I prefer to work on the weekends if vacancy available. I can work in the evenings from 4pm to 9pm. Could you suggest me any suitable timings.

I am looking forward to hear from you.

Kind regards,

Simranpreet Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The student covers all three bullet points from the prompt effectively. The letter begins by clearly explaining the motivation for volunteering, mentioning the local newspaper advertisement and having a summer break from college to dedicate to unpaid work. Secondly, relevant skills and qualities are outlined, including customer service experience from working in a cafe, multilingual abilities in English, Punjabi, and French, and a social service course. Finally, availability is provided, stating a start date from next week, preferred evening hours, and weekend availability. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a museum director. The response meets all task requirements successfully, earning a band score of 7.0 for fully addressing all parts of the prompt with clear and relevant supporting details.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is organised into logical paragraphs, with a clear beginning, middle paragraphs addressing specific bullet points, and a polite sign-off. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'Lastly' are used to structure the ideas in the second paragraph, ensuring clear progression throughout the text. While referencing and paragraphing are generally handled well, some transitions could be smoother, and minor mechanical linking issues appear, such as in the phrasing 'if vacancy available'. Overall, the logical organisation and progression place this response solidly within the Band 6.0 to 6.5 range, and the clear paragraphing supports a coherent overall arrangement.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a formal request letter, including terms like 'advertisement', 'voluntary/unpaid work', 'communication skills', and 'customer service'. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary such as 'ethical skills' and 'sufficient time'. However, there are a few word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'working in the museum' (usually 'at the museum'), 'have ability to speak' (missing the article 'the ability'), and 'social service course' (typically 'a community service course'). Despite these minor flaws, communication is never impeded, demonstrating a lexical resource matching the Band 6.0 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, using subordinating conjunctions like 'because' or introductory clauses effectively. There are several correct structures, but also noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'I read an advertisement in the local newspaper that...' (where 'stating that' or 'for' would be more natural), 'if vacancy available' (missing a subject and verb), 'Could you suggest me any suitable timings' (missing a preposition and using a question mark incorrectly on an indirect question), and 'looking forward to hear' (gerund needed: 'looking forward to hearing'). These errors do not impede communication, placing the grammar performance at a Band 6.0 level.

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

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