Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-24

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 5.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

Last week, I received the templete in which they written that they are looking for the people to help in museum as a voluntear. I am really interested in doing that job because when I was child I always went to the measum with my grandfather to do some work. He was working in the meseum as a manager . At that time, I always look at them and want to be become like him.

Although, I gain lots of good qualities and exellent skills from my grandfather while he was working such as how to clean all the museum, maintainance of the things that are very expensive. However, I will also help the visitors that are coming to the museum by giving them guidence regarding the museum.

Lastly, I am on my holidays from the school so they can call me anytime in weekdays eventhough on the weekends as well. Since, it will really help me to gain my experience.

I look forward to hearing from you.

With regards,

Manpreet Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. You explain why you want to do voluntary work by mentioning your childhood memories with your grandfather at the museum ('when I was child I always went to the measum with my grandfather to do some work'). You describe your skills and qualities, noting that you learned how to clean and handle expensive items, as well as guide visitors ('help the visitors that are coming to the museum by giving them guidence'). Finally, you provide availability details, stating you are on school holidays and available anytime on weekdays and weekends. All parts of the task are adequately addressed, earning a solid Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter follows a clear overall structure, opening with a proper salutation and closing with a sign-off. Paragraphing is used to separate different ideas, such as your motivation, your skills, and your availability. However, cohesion within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical or faulty. For instance, transitional phrases like 'Although' are used inappropriately as sentence starters without a contrasting main clause (e.g., 'Although, I gain lots of good qualities...'), and referencing is occasionally unclear. Despite these flaws, the letter remains coherent and easy to follow, justifying a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The lexical resource is adequate for communicating basic ideas, but it contains several spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'templete' instead of template, 'voluntear' instead of volunteer, 'measum' and 'meseum' instead of museum, and 'guidence' instead of guidance. You attempt some less common vocabulary, such as 'maintainance' and 'exellent', but the recurring spelling mistakes and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'want to be become like him') limit your score. The vocabulary is minimally sufficient to convey your message, placing this response at a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and dependent clauses (e.g., 'when I was child I always went...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including tense inconsistencies ('they written that they are looking', 'I gain lots'), missing articles ('when I was child'), and awkward phrasing ('they can call me anytime in weekdays eventhough on the weekends as well'). While these errors are noticeable and require the reader to occasionally pause, they do not entirely impede communication, which aligns with the Band 5.0 descriptors.

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

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