Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-22

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

All new employees at your workplace have a mentor - an experienced colleague who gives them advice and support in their career. As a new employee, you have been given details of your mentor.

Write a letter to introduce yourself to your new mentor. In your letter

• give a brief outline of your previous studies and work experience

• explain what help you hope your mentor can give

• suggest arrangements for a first meeting with your mentor

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear....... ,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Sir,

I am writing to you express myself, I am Abhishek and I born and grew up in India. I completed my senior secondary from there and my further higher studies in hospitality I completed in Canada. Moreover, I did two and half years job as a cook at a restaurant in my native country as well as in Canada I did one year as a cook and one year as a supervisor job at KFC.

Furthermore, as you know I have relevant experience and studies that is suitable for this job whereas before joining this job I want to know about workplace policies in detailed and also want to know how this company is deal with their employees.

Well, I would like to set-up short introductory meet whether over a coffee or video call. I am able to attend any type of meeting. Whenever, you have some spare time in next week please let me know I will arrange the meeting. I am looking forward to your response.

Thanking you,

Abhishek.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover all three requested points: you outline your hospitality studies and cooking and supervisory experience, identify support you want, and propose a first meeting by coffee or video call. The purpose is clear, but the help you hope to receive is only partly developed. You mention wanting to understand workplace policies and how the company deals with employees, but could explain more specifically what guidance you need from a mentor, such as advice on settling into the role or developing your career. The meeting suggestion is flexible, though offering a particular day or time would make the arrangement more concrete. Overall, the relevant ideas are present, but some remain limited or unclear.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a coherent overall arrangement: your background comes first, your request for guidance follows, and the final paragraph proposes a meeting. Paragraphing helps the reader distinguish these purposes, and linking expressions such as “Moreover” and “Furthermore” make the relationships between ideas apparent. This meets the lower-band expectation of an organised response and shows some movement towards more flexible cohesion. However, several transitions feel mechanical, and the first paragraph combines multiple study and work details in a long sequence. The meeting arrangements would also progress more clearly if you suggested a specific time and then invited your mentor to confirm or propose an alternative.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough relevant vocabulary to communicate your background and purpose, including “hospitality,” “supervisor,” “workplace policies,” and “introductory meet.” The reader can understand the main message, but the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are noticeably inaccurate, which keeps expression from being consistently clear and natural. For example, “express myself” does not convey the intended purpose of introducing yourself, and “how this company is deal with their employees” is awkward. “Set-up short introductory meet” is also not a natural phrase for arranging a meeting. Aim for precise, conventional workplace expressions and check that verbs and nouns combine naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some longer sentences and use clauses to connect information, for example when describing your studies and work history. However, the range of structures is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make parts of the letter difficult to read smoothly. In “I am writing to you express myself,” the infinitive structure is incomplete; “I born and grew up” is missing the auxiliary verb; and “how this company is deal” has an incorrect verb form. There are also problems with sentence boundaries and punctuation, such as joining “I am writing to you express myself” and “I am Abhishek” with a comma. Use shorter, controlled sentences first, then check verb forms and punctuation.

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.