Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-04

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 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I hope you are doing well! I am writing this letter to apply for volunteer work at the museum. I am looking forward to working here because I need to submit it to my university as a project to graduate with a good CGPA. My professor informed me about this job and even provided his reference for me to work here.

I am studying history and Spanish as a second language, so I can definitely guide visitors effectively by telling all the historical events related to the museum, in both English and Spanish. Apart from that, I am also willing to complete other day-to-day tasks, such as securing objects and following safety procedures to make the place safe for everyone.

Since my mid-term exams will finish next week, I would be available to work immediately afterwards. My schedule will be flexible, and I will be available any day.

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Manish

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt, satisfying the requirements for a general task letter. You clearly explain your motivation for volunteering, which is tied to your university project requirement and professor's reference, as seen in the statement: 'I need to submit it to my university as a project to graduate with a good CGPA.' You also cover your relevant skills by mentioning your background in history and Spanish, and specify your availability starting after your mid-term exams next week. However, the development of your ideas sits at this level because some parts are slightly more emphasized than others; for example, the explanation of why you want to do the work relies heavily on an academic requirement rather than a personal passion for the museum itself, which slightly limits the depth of that bullet point. To reach higher bands, you should expand more fully on all aspects with richer detail.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

Your letter demonstrates a clear, logical organization and progression throughout. The overall arrangement is coherent, starting with an appropriate salutation, moving smoothly through purpose, skills, and availability, and closing with a polite sign-off. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with each major point neatly isolated into its own paragraph. You use cohesive devices adequately, such as 'Apart from that' and 'Since my mid-term exams will finish next week', which guide the reader comfortably through the text. While referencing is generally clear, your cohesive devices occasionally feel slightly standard or mechanical rather than entirely seamless. To achieve a higher level, you could demonstrate even greater flexibility in how sentences and paragraphs are linked together without relying on formulaic transition markers.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating your message with terms like 'volunteer work', 'historical events', and 'flexible'. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'guide visitors effectively' and 'securing objects'. However, there are minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation that prevent a higher score, such as saying 'submit it to my university' when referring to volunteer work, which sounds slightly unnatural since you submit assignments rather than the work experience itself. Spelling and word choice remain generally clear and do not impede communication. To move to a higher band, you need to incorporate a wider range of sophisticated, less common lexical items with more precise control over style and collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You display a satisfactory mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like 'Since my mid-term exams will finish next week, I would be available to work immediately afterwards.' There is a good control of verb tenses and forms, and your punctuation is generally accurate throughout the response. Grammatical errors are present but occur infrequently, and they rarely impede communication. For instance, the pronoun reference in 'submit it to my university' is slightly ambiguous regarding what 'it' refers to, but the overall meaning is still clear. To reach a higher band, you would need to produce a higher frequency of error-free sentences using a wider variety of complex grammatical structures with consistent accuracy.

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

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