Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Predictions Nov 2026 · 2026-11-09

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You live in an apartment building where residents share a laundry room, which is open from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. You work changing shifts at a nearby hospital, and you are often away during these hours. The building manager has asked residents to write if they have any concerns about facilities in the building.

Write a letter to the building manager. In your letter

• explain why the current laundry-room hours are difficult for you to use
• describe how this problem affects you or your household
• suggest a practical change to the opening hours, such as keeping the room open later on some evenings

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 5.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to inform you regarding the laundry facility in the building. I would like to increase or change the opening hours due to my work schedule.

I have been having hard to time to use the laundry due to the current limited opening hours. As I work in chnaging shifts at a hospital, I am not at home during these hours, which makes me difficult to wash my clothes.

Since I work at hospital and work with , I have to wash my clothes regulary and maintain the hygene. However, due to this problem, I have to repeat the same clothes over and over again, which puts me in stress.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

You identify the main concern: hospital shift work means you are often away while the laundry room is open, and you explain that this makes washing clothes difficult and causes stress. However, the response addresses the task only partially. It does not include the requested practical change to the opening hours, such as later access on selected evenings, and the effect on your household is not developed beyond your own clothing and stress. The letter is also 34 words below the required minimum, leaving too little space to explain the situation fully. To strengthen it, add a specific schedule proposal and explain how the current arrangement affects your routine, then close with a polite request for the manager to consider it.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter has a basic, understandable progression: you introduce the request, explain your work schedule, and describe a consequence. Paragraph breaks help separate these points, and links such as “As” and “However” show some awareness of how ideas relate. At this level, though, the overall progression remains limited because the letter stops before making a clear, complete request or closing. The repeated reference to working at a hospital also makes the development feel somewhat repetitive. A clearer sequence would be to state the problem, explain its practical effects, propose later opening hours, and finish with a courteous request. This would make the relationship between each point easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough relevant vocabulary to communicate the basic issue, including “opening hours,” “work schedule,” “laundry,” and “maintain the hygiene.” There are also attempts to express consequences with phrases such as “puts me in stress.” However, several spelling and word-choice errors reduce accuracy, including “chnaging,” “regulary,” and “hygene.” Some expressions are also unnatural or unclear, particularly “inform you regarding” and “work with” followed by no completed idea. Aim for more precise, natural phrases suited to a formal letter, such as “raise a concern about,” “work rotating shifts,” and “causes me considerable stress.” Proofreading spelling and completing unclear phrases would make your meaning more fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple sentences and longer clauses, for example, “As I work in chnaging shifts at a hospital, I am not at home during these hours,” which shows an attempt to explain cause and effect. The main message is generally understandable, but some grammatical patterns are inaccurate: “I have been having hard to time” needs a different construction, and “which makes me difficult to wash my clothes” should describe the difficulty as yours. Articles are also missing in “at hospital,” while the sentence beginning “Since I work at hospital and work with” is incomplete. These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the central concern, but more accurate sentence patterns and a complete final sentence would improve control.

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

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