Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-06

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 hope you are doing well, i am writing this letter regarding voluntary work at the Museum.

To explain, my name is Gurbachan Singh and i live near guru Ram das museum that around 200 meters from my house. Yesterday i read a advertisement that you looking for unpaid workers and i made my decession to work at Museum for free as i am free in these days so with joining you i can spend some time clean the paintings and orgainising the things. I used to house keeping job at hotel in down-town that i left because of low wage.

To clarify, i will be available after 12pm from Monday-Saturday from 21st October. i can spend 4 hours everyday.

I anticipate that you will think about my reqest and if you will respond my letter qickly that will be great thing for me.

Your Sincerely

Gurbachan Singh.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, though the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. The writer covers why they want to do voluntary work at the museum, mentions relevant skills such as cleaning paintings and organising things, and provides specific availability details. However, some points are limited and under-developed. For instance, the explanation of why the applicant wants to work there leans heavily on being free and living close by, rather than a deeper passion for history or culture. Additionally, mentioning past housekeeping experience at a hotel is relevant, but the elaboration remains brief. The purpose of the letter is clear and the tone is appropriate for a formal request, aligning well with the expectations for a partial yet adequate coverage of the bullet points.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a discernible letter structure, starting with an appropriate greeting and dividing the body into logical paragraphs covering introduction, reasons, skills, availability, and a concluding sign-off. However, cohesive devices are at times mechanical or basic, such as using 'To explain' and 'To clarify' as transitional markers, which feels somewhat formulaic. Referencing and paragraphing are generally handled adequately, ensuring that the reader can follow the writer's schedule and intentions without getting lost. To move higher, the letter would benefit from smoother, more natural transitions between sentences and ideas rather than relying on explicit signposting phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, providing enough terms to communicate the basic message, such as 'voluntary work', 'unpaid workers', and 'house keeping'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and word formation that draw attention, such as 'advertisement that you looking' missing the auxiliary verb, 'decession' instead of 'decision', 'orgainising', and 'reqest'. The range of vocabulary is limited, relying heavily on simple, everyday words with frequent spelling slips like 'qickly'. While communication is not severely impeded, these lexical inaccuracies prevent the response from achieving a higher level, which requires a more precise and accurate control of less common lexical items.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text displays a limited range of grammatical structures, relying primarily on simple sentences alongside a few attempts at compound or complex forms that often contain errors. There are frequent grammatical issues, including capitalization errors like lowercase 'i', punctuation issues in compound structures, and prepositional inaccuracies such as 'in these days' instead of 'these days'. Verb forms and agreements also show frequent slips, as seen in 'that around 200 meters' lacking a verb, and conditional constructions like 'if you will respond my letter qickly that will be great'. These frequent errors require the reader to occasionally expend extra effort to interpret the meaning, placing the grammatical performance firmly within the expected boundaries for this band level.

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

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