Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

Dear Barrett,

I am writing to inform you, i am willing to help you in your home during summer time.

I am thinking to help you by cleaning your home like do mopping and sweaping, making the food for you for two times along with watering the plants in your backyard.

I am feel happy ,when i get chance to help somone and it also give me a chance to earn some extra money .but Unfortunetely, i am not available every day due to my study and work beacuse , i have off only those day when i have colledge but i can promise i will do all given things during whole week expect monday and wednesday.

I really willing to help you ,if you have any concern ,please do not hestitate to reach out.

Best regards,

Ramandeep Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points: suggesting tasks, explaining the motivation, and detailing availability. However, the response is under the 150-word minimum, which limits the development of ideas. The suggestions for help are brief, and the explanation of availability is slightly confusing due to grammatical errors. To improve, you should expand on your ideas—for example, by describing your cleaning experience or explaining why you are specifically interested in helping Mrs Barrett. Because the response is under-length and lacks sufficient detail to fully develop the points, it falls into the lower band range.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter follows a basic structure, but the paragraphing is insufficient. The entire body of the letter is compressed into two long, dense paragraphs, which makes it harder to follow. There is a lack of cohesive devices to link ideas smoothly; for instance, the transition between your availability and your willingness to help is abrupt. While the purpose of the letter is clear, the logical progression is hindered by the lack of clear paragraph breaks and limited use of linking words such as 'furthermore', 'consequently', or 'however'.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is quite basic and repetitive. You use simple phrases like 'help you' and 'do mopping' repeatedly. There are also several spelling errors, such as 'sweaping' (sweeping), 'somone' (someone), 'beacuse' (because), 'colledge' (college), and 'hestitate' (hesitate). These errors, combined with the limited range of vocabulary, restrict the ability to convey ideas with precision. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more varied and accurate vocabulary related to household chores and professional communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including issues with subject-verb agreement ('I am feel happy'), article usage, and sentence structure. Many sentences are run-on or lack proper punctuation, such as 'I am thinking to help you by cleaning your home like do mopping and sweaping'. The use of 'i' instead of the capitalized 'I' is a consistent error. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic structures prevents the text from reaching a higher band. You should focus on proofreading for basic grammar and punctuation.

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

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