Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-27

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 6.0)

Dear Mrs. Barrett,

My name is John. I am a residence of 14-A, Yorkville, Toronto in your town. I am writing this letter to inform that i am interest to help you in your house for a few hours a day in coming next summer.

At first, I came across the reading of an advertisement in today newspaper and due to that i am very keen for helping you and also learn some English classes from you from my college studies. Therefore, surely you need assistance from me because your spouse is out of town for few months as already mentioned in your advertisement. You need a help to rearrange the library and desk format for teaching the students in your home.

Moreover, since in my school time, I also help the teachers and the perspective librarian for re-arranging of books and notebooks in library. Also I gained some experience of learning new books of fiction and non fiction from you, while helping you. In summers, I can also do good conversations in English with you as for my personality building and preparing of my college exams.

Lastly, I would suggest you that time is given to you for helping in your pending working in evening 6 P.M. to 8 P.M. everyday. Because I am into working profession in corporate company as a full time job from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday to Friday. Sometimes I will be available in morning and weekend also from 10 A.M. to 12 A.M. but no in regular days. At the end, I have all the qualities and the consideration behaviour regarding to help you in summer vacation.

I am waiting for your positive response as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely,

John

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter covers all three bullet points required by the prompt: suggesting help, explaining the motivation, and detailing availability. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter to a stranger. However, some ideas are slightly underdeveloped or confusing, such as the mention of 'learning English classes' from Mrs. Barrett, which seems to contradict the request for a helper. Additionally, the explanation of availability is somewhat repetitive and contains contradictory information (e.g., '10 A.M. to 12 A.M.' is 14 hours, likely a typo for 12 P.M.). Despite these minor issues, the purpose of the letter is clear and the requirements are met.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of the task. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Moreover', 'Lastly', and 'Therefore', though some are used slightly awkwardly or mechanically. The progression of ideas is generally clear, although the transition between the offer to help and the personal motivation is a bit abrupt. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different requirements of the prompt, which helps the reader follow the structure of the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several instances of awkward phrasing or incorrect word choices, such as 'residence of' instead of 'resident of', 'reading of an advertisement' instead of 'reading an advertisement', and 'consideration behaviour'. While the meaning is generally conveyed, the range of vocabulary is limited, and the student relies on basic structures. To improve, the student should focus on more natural collocations and avoid literal translations that sound unnatural in English.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The letter contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include incorrect verb forms ('i am interest to help'), missing articles ('in today newspaper'), and preposition errors ('in coming next summer'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with capitalization and time formats. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable and detract from the overall quality of the writing. More attention to subject-verb agreement and basic sentence construction is needed.

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.