Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-05

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You have decided to look for a new job.

Write a letter to a friend. In your letter
• explain why you are looking for a new job.
• describe the kind of job you would like to have.
• ask your friend to help you find a job

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear _________,

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Dear Renu,

How are you? I’d like to let you know that I’m currently looking for new role and I need your support.

As you know, I will be completing my fifth years in the current organisation. Recent appraisal reviews didn’t meet my efforts which I did towards the project success. Hence, I decided to move and look for the better options to meet my expectations.

Since I have almost eight years experience in the banking field as a senior analyst and also acted SME in my previous company. I’d like to apply for the supervisor or manager level to meet the salary expedition and take more responsibility as well.

Therefore, if you can help me with some consultancies which you visited or contacted can help me to approach my path quickly. Additionally, please refer me in your company if there are any placement open. Finally, I’ll treat you once I get the job which I am aiming for.

Waiting for your quick response.

Warm regards,

Anjali

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points: explaining the reason for leaving, describing the desired role, and requesting assistance. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, maintaining a semi-formal yet personal style. The ideas are relevant and clearly presented, though the development of the 'reason for leaving' could be slightly more nuanced. The purpose of the letter is clear from the outset, and the closing is appropriate. Overall, the response fulfills the requirements of the task effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the prompt, which helps the reader follow the narrative. Cohesive devices such as 'Hence', 'Since', 'Therefore', and 'Additionally' are used to link sentences and ideas. While the flow is generally good, some transitions feel slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, body, and conclusion, ensuring the letter is easy to navigate.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their professional background and intentions clearly. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'fifth years' instead of 'five years' and 'salary expedition' instead of 'salary expectations'. However, these do not impede communication. The writer uses some industry-specific terminology like 'senior analyst' and 'SME' (Subject Matter Expert), which adds authenticity to the content. A wider range of more sophisticated collocations would be needed for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'efforts which I did towards' (should be 'efforts I made toward') and 'placement open' (should be 'openings'). Punctuation is generally functional, though some sentence boundaries are slightly awkward. Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout the letter. To improve, the writer should focus on subject-verb agreement and more precise prepositional usage.

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

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