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 template in which it was stated that they are looking for the people to help in the museum as a volunteer. I am really interested in doing that job because when I was a child I always went to the museum with my grandfather to do some work. He was working in the meseum as a manager . At that time, I always looked at them and wanted to be become like him.

Although, I gained lots of good qualities and excellent skills from my grandfather while he was working such as how to clean all the museum and the maintenance of valuable items. However, I will also help the visitors that are coming to the museum by giving them guidance regarding the museum.

Lastly, I am on my holidays from the school so they can call me anytime in weekdays even though 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 covers all three bullet points required in the prompt. The writer successfully explains why they want to do voluntary work by mentioning their childhood connection with their grandfather and the museum, describes useful skills and qualities such as cleaning, maintenance, and visitor guidance, and gives details of availability by stating they are on school holidays and available on weekdays and weekends. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a museum director. Although the ideas are somewhat personal and simple, they fulfill the task requirements adequately. Therefore, this performance fits comfortably into Band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement with a standard greeting and sign-off, and it uses paragraphing to separate different points. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, the transitional phrases used, such as 'Although, I gained...' and 'However, I will also help...', are grammatically incorrect and misuse contrast markers. Referencing is generally clear, but the logical progression between sentences is occasionally disrupted by awkward transitions. The use of cohesive devices is not entirely natural or flexible, which places this response at Band 6.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, including words like 'voluntary', 'maintenance', and 'guidance'. However, there are notable word choice errors and unnatural collocations, such as 'wanted to be become like him' and 'gain my experience' instead of 'gain experience'. Spelling is mostly accurate, with minor slips like 'meseum'. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended message, but the limitations and inaccuracies keep the score at Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are several grammatical errors throughout the text, including punctuation and sentence fragment issues, such as starting a sentence with 'Although,' without an independent clause attached, and 'Since, it will really help me...' where a dependent clause stands alone. Other errors include 'looking for the people' and 'in weekdays'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the writing from reaching Band 6.

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

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