Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-25

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 Maam,

I am writing to apply for a part-time voluntary position at the museum. I am living near by and visited many times there with family and friends. I would like to learn more about the history of this area and craft that will not only be helpfull for updating my resume but also be give chance to enhance knowledge level .

In the sence of my skills , I am friendly and feel comfertable while talking with people of different ages .In my perivious work, I learned how to answer quikly and clearly , worked in team ,and stay oraginsed at work . Even though currently I have not much experience about museum , in few days I will put painstaking eforts for observing each and everything .

Having part-time avability , allows me to do only 24 hours to do work so I am ready to work on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday full days .

Thank you for considering my application

Your faithfully ,

Gagan

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The candidate successfully covers all three bullet points required in the task instructions. First, the writer explains the motivation for wanting to work at the museum, mentioning living nearby, previous visits, and the desire to learn history and improve their resume. Second, useful skills and qualities are described, such as being friendly, comfortable communicating across generations, answering quickly and clearly, working in a team, and staying organised. Third, the availability is clearly stated as being free to work full days on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter of application. The ideas are relevant and sufficiently extended to meet the requirements of a Band 6.5 or 6.0 level of task response. However, some points, such as the specific skills, remain slightly underdeveloped.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical paragraph structure that directly addresses each part of the prompt. The salutation and sign-off are correctly included, and the paragraphs are separated clearly. However, cohesive devices are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition 'In the sence of my skills' is awkward, and referencing within sentences occasionally feels disjointed, such as 'Having part-time avability , allows me to do only 24 hours to do work'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to divide the introduction, motivations, skills, and availability into readable blocks. Overall, the organizational structure is easy to follow despite minor mechanical cohesion issues.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate their basic points effectively. There are several spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'Maam' instead of 'Madam', 'near by' instead of 'nearby', 'helpfull', 'give chance', 'sence' instead of 'sense', 'comfertable', 'perivious', 'quikly', 'oraginsed', 'eforts', and 'avability'. Despite these noticeable spelling and lexical errors, they do not impede communication because the intended meaning remains clear to the reader. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary items like 'painstaking eforts' and 'voluntary position', but the lexical control is limited, placing this firmly within the Band 5.5 to 6.0 range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in structure (e.g., 'Even though currently I have not much experience about museum...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation mistakes throughout the text, including incorrect comma placement ('avability , allows'), subject-verb agreement issues ('I am living... and visited'), missing prepositions ('visited many times there'), and incorrect verb forms ('be give chance'). While these errors are noticeable and occur frequently, they rarely impede overall communication, as the director can easily understand the candidate's core message, availability, and qualifications.

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

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