Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-25

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

A restaurant has placed an advertisement for waiters and waitresses in your local newspaper. Write a letter to the restaurant, applying for the job. In the letter

• explain what you are currently doing
• describe your suitability for this area of work
• say when you can attend an interview.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Respected sir,

I am Riya, am currently a student in Canadian university who came from India to study . But as a student i would like to work in your restaurant and gain some experience about work culture in Canada which will help me in my management skills and good ability for team work.

And as a student i also know how to make our restaurant more efficient for our consumers beacuase earlier i used to work in my hometown where I had my own local shop which helped me in gaining some work experience and my ability for hospitality for our consumers. I also have a good communication skills which will help me to have conversation with our consumers and also with the foreigners that will visit our restaurant as I know multiple languages

I am also ready for an interview. You can call me for interview as I am fully prepared for it and I know I am perfectly eligible to work as a waitress in your restaurant and I'll be able to grow your restaurant in future

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all three bullet points of the prompt: current status, suitability, and interview availability. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. While you mention your background in a local shop, the connection to the specific requirements of a restaurant waiter role could be more detailed. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter, though the opening 'Respected sir' is slightly unconventional for a Canadian context; 'Dear Hiring Manager' or 'Dear Sir/Madam' would be more standard. The ideas are relevant, but the overall structure lacks the depth expected for a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into three paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your points. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite limited and repetitive. You rely heavily on 'and' and 'as' to connect ideas, which makes the flow feel a bit mechanical. There is a lack of sophisticated transition words or phrases to link your experience to your suitability. Additionally, the paragraphing is somewhat inconsistent, as the second paragraph contains multiple distinct ideas that could have been better separated or connected with more varied linking words to improve the logical progression.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You use basic terms like 'good ability' and 'make our restaurant more efficient' repeatedly. There are also some minor errors in word choice, such as 'gain some experience about work culture' (should be 'in') and 'my ability for hospitality' (should be 'my hospitality skills'). While you attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'management skills' and 'team work', the overall lexical range is limited, and the phrasing often sounds slightly unnatural or repetitive.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Issues include missing articles ('in Canadian university', 'as a student'), incorrect preposition usage, and punctuation errors (e.g., missing commas and periods). For example, 'I am Riya, am currently a student' is grammatically incorrect. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles, as these errors occur throughout the text and detract from the overall clarity of your writing.

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

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