Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-27

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 5.0)

Dear Sir,

I hope you are doing well. I have an interest for voluntary work. I am writing for express my interest for voluntary work.

I want to do voluntary work at the museum because I do not had experience it once. I want to do it and it was first time a near my home any voluntary work is taking place. Therefore I want to grab this opportunity. In other words, I am new in Canada and in this way I can interact with so many people.

I believe i am suitable canditate for this work. I have good communication skills. Besides that, i can also work in other areas such as cleaning, dusting, designing.

I am a Physiotherapist and I have free time on weekends. Because I have a very busy schedule and I can also take some days off from work. Please let me know when you want staff. I will be available at that time.

Thank you for your consideration. I hope we will be work together.

Yours faithfully,

Rajandeep Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. The candidate explains why they want to do voluntary work, mentioning being new in Canada and wanting to interact with people. They describe skills and qualities such as communication skills and practical abilities like cleaning and designing. Additionally, they give details of their availability, noting that they are a physiotherapist with free time on weekends. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive, particularly regarding the motivation for volunteering. While the purpose of the letter is clear, the content aligns with a Band 5 or 6 profile. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal application letter, though the structure could be more polished to fully satisfy all requirements with greater depth.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The letter uses basic paragraphing, separating the introduction, reasons, skills, and availability into distinct blocks of text. However, the overall progression is hindered by choppy sentences and repetitive phrasing, such as repeating 'I want to do voluntary work' multiple times at the beginning. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes awkward, as seen with 'In other words, I am new in Canada', which does not accurately rephrase the preceding sentence. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the mechanical flow places the text firmly at Band 5. The closing and opening salutations are standard, but the internal transitions between ideas need smoother linking to achieve a higher score.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, frequently reusing words like 'voluntary work', 'want', and 'work'. There are noticeable lexical errors, such as 'I have an interest for voluntary work' instead of 'in', and 'I do not had experience it once', which significantly reduces the precision of the message. While the candidate attempts to introduce some topic-specific vocabulary related to their profession ('Physiotherapist') and tasks ('cleaning, dusting, designing'), the restricted range and persistent word-choice inaccuracies limit the lexical score. Communication is not completely impeded, but the limitations in vocabulary flexibility point directly to a Band 5 performance.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the letter, including tense and auxiliary verb mistakes such as 'I do not had experience it once' and 'I am writing for express'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but sentence structures are often faulty when attempts are made to link clauses. Errors frequently cause some difficulty for the reader and distract from the message. Because simple structures dominate and errors are frequent rather than occasional, the writing matches the criteria for a Band 5.

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

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