Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-14

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

Mrs Barrett, an English-speaking woman who lives in your town, has advertised for someone to help her in her home for a few hours a day next summer.

Write a letter to Mrs Barrett. In your letter

• suggest how you could help her in her home
• say why you would like to do this work
• explain when you will and will not be available

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Mrs Barrett,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

I am writing these letter for helping you in next the summer. I got to know about this from a newspaper advertised that you need someone who can help you for few hours at your home.

To begin with, I am keen to help people who are in need. Although I can help you in setting up your home as well as in cleaning. Apart from that any technology related help you need I can provide you that also.

Secondly, I just want you to know that in the last week of summer I am not available because I have to go at my grandfather home to see him. After that I am available all the days to help you for your work at your home.

I hope you find my letter and I will be great full to help you in your work. It will be great opporunity for me that I can also learn English from you.

Thank you,

Priyank Patel.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the prompt: suggesting how you can help, explaining your motivation, and clarifying your availability. The tone is generally appropriate for a letter to a potential employer. However, the development of ideas is somewhat basic. For instance, when mentioning how you can help, you list 'cleaning' and 'technology related help' without providing specific examples or details that would make you a more attractive candidate. To improve, try to expand on your skills—for example, instead of just saying 'cleaning', you could mention 'light housekeeping or grocery shopping'. The purpose of the letter is clear, but adding more depth to your suggestions would better satisfy the requirements for a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your points. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Apart from that', and 'Secondly' to transition between ideas. While these are functional, they are somewhat mechanical. The progression of ideas is clear, but the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that referencing (e.g., 'this', 'that') is more precise. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different requirements of the task, which is a positive feature of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your message clearly. You use some relevant terms like 'advertised', 'available', and 'opportunity'. However, there are instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'I am writing these letter' (should be 'this letter') and 'I will be great full' (should be 'grateful'). You rely on fairly simple vocabulary throughout. To reach a higher band, you should aim to incorporate more precise collocations and avoid repetitive structures. Expanding your range to include more sophisticated adjectives and verbs would significantly enhance the quality of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the accuracy of your writing. Examples include 'I am writing these letter for helping you' (should be 'to help you'), 'in next the summer' (should be 'next summer'), and 'go at my grandfather home' (should be 'go to my grandfather's home'). These errors are noticeable and occur throughout the text. While they do not prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they indicate a need for more careful proofreading and a better grasp of basic sentence construction, particularly regarding prepositions and pluralization.

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

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