Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-13

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 am writing this letter regarding the advertisement I saw on social media that you are looking for part-time voluntary workers at the museum.

I am interested in applying for the winter position because I took a semester break from my college and I have plenty of free time. So, I want to spend this time learning something that will be valuable for my academics as well. Moreover, I am enrolled in a history course in my upcoming term. So, working in a museum will also help me to learn about the history and culture of Canada.

I can help you with my skills, as I am fond of reading history books and I can guide the people who are visiting the museum. Also, I can read stories for children in my local library once a week, so I may help the students who will be visiting the museum on their trips.

I also work part-time at McDonald's three days a week. It would be good if you could set my schedule according to my work. I can volunteer from Monday to Thursday, 9 AM to 3 PM.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You address all three requirements and make your purpose clear from the opening: you are applying for a voluntary position after seeing the advertisement. Your reasons are relevant and supported, particularly the link between your upcoming history course and learning about Canadian history and culture. You also identify useful experience—reading history books and reading stories to children—and give specific availability from Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The main detail that could be developed further is how your skills would help with museum duties; for example, explain how you would welcome visitors or support children during tours. Clarifying your preferred winter start date would also make the application more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter follows a clear progression: you introduce the application, explain your motivation, describe relevant experience, and finish with your availability and a polite closing. Paragraphing helps the reader distinguish these points, and links such as “Moreover” and “Also” make relationships between ideas clear. The sequence is logical throughout. Some linking is slightly repetitive, especially the repeated use of “So,” and the transition from your skills to your current McDonald’s schedule could be smoother. You could connect these ideas more naturally by explaining that your existing work commitments shape your availability. Overall, the organisation is easy to follow, with room for more varied and unobtrusive transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for a formal application and communicates the main points clearly, with relevant terms such as “voluntary workers,” “history course,” and “visiting the museum.” You also use some appropriate phrases, including “semester break” and “Looking forward to hearing from you.” However, the range is somewhat general, and a few choices are imprecise or less natural in this context. “Winter position” may suggest a paid or fixed-term job rather than voluntary work, while “guide the people” is less idiomatic than describing visitor assistance. “Set my schedule according to my work” is understandable but could be expressed more professionally. More precise vocabulary for museum duties and visitor support would improve flexibility and collocational control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, and most of the letter is easy to understand. For example, the sentence beginning “because I took a semester break” gives a clear reason, while “as I am fond of reading history books” introduces supporting information. Some grammatical and punctuation issues remain. In “I am writing this letter regarding the advertisement I saw on social media that you are looking,” the clause structure is awkward; a relative clause such as “in which you advertised” would be clearer. The sentence beginning “It would be good if you could set my schedule” is also less direct and could be recast as a clear statement of availability. More consistently controlled clause structures and punctuation would strengthen accuracy.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.