Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-05

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 John,

I hope you are doing well. I am doing great as well. Recently, I went through a medical emergency, and I took a long leave. So, you know it is a contract job, my project manager assigned my project to another colleague to complete it on time, which resulted in the termination of my job.

I am writing this letter to request your help in finding a new job. I am looking to start a new job as a project lead in the IT field, as I have 8 years of experience. Although I am applying to classifieds here, I want you to try from your end if you have any known references. I hope you will get back to me with your references because you are in the same field, apart from that you are running an IT consultancy.

I am looking forward to hearing from you. Convey my best regards to your family as well.

Thank you.

Best Regards,

sushi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly explained the reason for your job search (medical emergency and contract termination), described your desired role (project lead in the IT field), and made a clear request for your friend's assistance. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, maintaining a personal and informal style throughout. The ideas are relevant and well-developed, ensuring the reader understands your situation and your specific needs. To reach a higher band, you could expand slightly on the specific skills or projects you are interested in to provide more depth.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Although,' 'apart from that,' and 'as well' to link your sentences. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, the body of the request, and the closing. However, the transition between the explanation of your job loss and the request for help could be smoother. Some of the sentence structures are a bit repetitive, which makes the flow feel slightly mechanical at times. Increasing the variety of linking words would improve the overall cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'medical emergency,' 'contract job,' 'termination,' and 'IT consultancy' correctly. The language is natural and fits the context of a professional-yet-friendly letter. There are no significant spelling or word-choice errors that impede communication. To improve, you could incorporate more precise or sophisticated vocabulary to describe your professional experience or the type of support you are seeking, moving beyond common phrases to show a wider lexical range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'Although I am applying to classifieds here, I want you to try from your end.' While most of your sentences are clear and grammatically sound, there are some minor issues with punctuation and sentence construction, such as the comma splice in 'you know it is a contract job, my project manager assigned...' and the slightly awkward phrasing in 'apart from that you are running an IT consultancy.' These errors do not impede communication, but they prevent the writing from being considered fully error-free.

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.