Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-03

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

 

You started in your present job two years ago. You now feel it is important for your career development to move to a different department in the same company.

Write a letter to your manager. In your letter

• say what you have learned in your present job
• suggest how the company would benefit from moving you to a different department
• explain why you do not wish to leave the company

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ....................................,

Student answer (Band 5.0)

Dear Mr. Davis,

I am writing to express my interests in transferring to the Marketing Department as part of long-term career growth within the company.

Over the past two years in my current role as a Customer Service Representative, I gained extensive knowledge of our core products and developed strong problem solving and client communication skills. Handling direct customer feedback has given me a deep understanding of our user base and their key pain points.

I can immediately leverage these direct consumer insight to help craft more targeted campaign strategies.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, as it is significantly under-length at 90 words. Consequently, the ideas are underdeveloped. While you have touched upon the required bullet points—mentioning your learning in the current role and the benefit to the company—the explanation for why you wish to stay at the company is entirely missing. To achieve a higher band, you must fully address all parts of the prompt and expand your ideas to meet the length requirement, ensuring a professional tone throughout the letter.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter is logically organized into short paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of your ideas. However, because the text is so brief, there is very little opportunity to demonstrate a range of cohesive devices. The transition between the introduction and the body is clear, but the lack of a concluding paragraph or a proper sign-off makes the structure feel incomplete. To improve, ensure you use a wider variety of linking words and phrases to connect your sentences and paragraphs more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally appropriate for a formal business letter, such as 'extensive knowledge' and 'leverage'. However, the range is quite limited due to the brevity of the response. There is a minor error in 'direct consumer insight', which should be pluralized as 'insights' to match the context. To reach a higher band, you should incorporate more sophisticated, topic-specific vocabulary related to professional development and corporate strategy, and ensure consistent accuracy in word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The grammar is generally accurate in the sentences provided, with a clear subject-verb structure. You have used a mix of simple and complex sentences, such as 'Handling direct customer feedback has given me...'. However, the limited length restricts your ability to demonstrate a wide range of complex grammatical structures. There is a minor error in the first sentence: 'express my interests' should be 'express my interest'. Focus on expanding your writing to include more varied sentence types, such as conditionals or passive voice, to demonstrate greater control.

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

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