Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-30
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,
I am writing a letter regarding applying for part time voluntary work at the museum. I want to do this vountary work because it is near to my house and I think its good to do some unpaid work. I saw so many people doing voluntary and think when I get chance to do it as when you are doing any unpaid work for anybody ;God will pays you more for doing such great things in your life.I have some skills and qualities that would be helpul in this job, like I have experience in customer service and my communication and oragniational slills are good too.I am available for 3 days during weekdays;tuesday, wedesday and thursday. I am requesting to you give me chance after considering if i am meeting the critieria of avaible job. I am thankful to you for your time and waiting for your response.
Yours faithfully
Jashanpreet Kaur
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response addresses all three bullet points required in the prompt, covering why you want to do the voluntary work, your relevant skills and qualities, and your availability. The purpose of the letter is clear, and the tone is generally appropriate for a formal application. However, some ideas are somewhat basic and under-developed, particularly the explanation regarding why you want to work at the museum, which relies on personal beliefs rather than professional enthusiasm for the institution or its exhibits. To achieve a higher score, you should expand more fully on how your background aligns with the museum's goals and provide more detailed context for your application.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement, and the reader can follow the main points from the introduction to the conclusion. However, the organisation lacks proper paragraphing, as the entire body of the letter is compressed into a single block of text. Furthermore, cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or overused, and referencing is not always clear. To improve, you need to divide your ideas into clear, logical paragraphs corresponding to each bullet point in the prompt, and use a wider and more natural range of transition words to connect your sentences smoothly.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, successfully communicating basic messages about your job application. You attempt some less common vocabulary related to employment, such as 'customer service' and 'voluntary work'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, including 'vountary' instead of voluntary, 'helpul' instead of helpful, and 'oragniational slills' instead of organisational skills. These errors do not completely impede communication, but they restrict your score. To reach a higher band, you need to use a wider range of precise vocabulary with accurate spelling and natural collocations.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures like conditional clauses and relative links. However, there is a limited range of grammatical structures used accurately, and frequent errors persist throughout the text. Examples include punctuation issues, run-on sentences such as 'I saw so many people doing voluntary and think when I get chance...', and incorrect preposition use like 'near to my house' instead of near my house. While these errors rarely completely impede understanding, they cause some difficulty for the reader and demonstrate a lack of firm control over complex grammar.
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