Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-16

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 5.0)

Dear Mrs Barrett,

I am writing this letter in response to your advertisement regarding the need of a caretaker.

I am working as part-time caretaker, helping elderly people in their daily living activities like bathing, grooming and cooking. In addition, I have prior experience in this field, so that I can help you to manage your daily needs mentioned in your ad.

Making someone's life less challenging is my prime goal because I already witnessed disability in my family, where my grandfather had stroke. Caring someone is a really good did and I would like to enjoy my day helping others.

In your advertisement, you mentioned that you need a help

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to address all parts of the task. While you mention your experience and motivation, the letter is incomplete. You did not finish explaining your availability, and the final sentence is cut off mid-thought. Furthermore, the response is significantly under the 150-word minimum requirement, which severely limits the development of your ideas. To improve, you must ensure all bullet points are fully expanded and that the letter reaches the required length. Currently, the task is only partially addressed due to the incomplete nature of the content.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter shows some basic organization with clear paragraph breaks. However, the abrupt ending and the lack of a closing salutation negatively impact the overall flow. Cohesive devices are used sparingly (e.g., 'In addition', 'because'), but the progression of ideas is interrupted by the unfinished final paragraph. To improve, ensure that each paragraph is fully developed and that the letter concludes with a formal sign-off, such as 'Yours sincerely,' to maintain a professional tone throughout.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. There are some noticeable errors in word choice, such as 'Caring someone is a really good did' (should be 'deed') and 'witnessed disability' (should be 'witnessed the effects of a disability'). These errors occasionally cause the reader to pause. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and ensure that your word forms are accurate. Expanding your range of descriptive adjectives and professional terminology would also be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that affect clarity, such as 'I am working as part-time caretaker' (missing article 'a'), 'where my grandfather had stroke' (missing article 'a'), and 'need a help' (incorrect usage of article). While the meaning is generally understandable, these recurring errors in articles and sentence construction prevent the writing from reaching a higher level of accuracy. Focus on proofreading for basic article usage and subject-verb agreement.

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

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