Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-02

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)

Dear Mrs Barrett

I hope you are doing well, I saw an advertisement that you need someone who can help you in your home for few hours in upcoming summer.

could you please explain me for what kind of work you need a person. I can drive a car so i can help you in moving and i am good in gardening as well if you want to clean your backyard. i can help in this as well. I have one more skill that i am good cook i can cook something i can do it as well.

I am free in my next summer because its my break time from my college so i can earn some money for my personal expense. could you plz tell the exact time and date and please send me your address as well so i can check that how far it is from my home,

Thank you

sincerely

Priya

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: suggesting help, explaining your motivation, and stating your availability. However, the development of these ideas is quite limited. For instance, while you mention gardening and cooking, these points are presented in a list-like fashion rather than being fully explained or expanded upon. The tone is also slightly inconsistent; asking for the employer's address in a first letter can seem a bit abrupt or unprofessional. To improve, ensure you provide more detail for each point and maintain a consistently polite and formal tone throughout the letter.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is logically organized, with each paragraph addressing a specific part of the prompt. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite basic and sometimes repetitive. You rely heavily on simple conjunctions like 'and' to link ideas. There is a lack of sophisticated transition words or phrases to connect your sentences smoothly. Furthermore, the paragraphing is not clearly defined, as the text appears as one large block. Using clear paragraph breaks between your introduction, body points, and closing would significantly improve the readability and structure of your letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite basic. You use simple, repetitive phrases such as 'I can help' and 'I am good in'. There is little evidence of less common or more precise vocabulary that would demonstrate a higher level of proficiency. For example, instead of saying 'I am good cook', you could use 'I have a passion for culinary tasks' or 'I am a proficient cook'. Additionally, there are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'in upcoming summer' (should be 'this coming summer') and 'for my personal expense' (should be 'for my personal expenses').

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple sentence structures, but there is a lack of complex sentence forms. Punctuation is a significant issue throughout the letter; there are several run-on sentences, such as 'I hope you are doing well, I saw an advertisement...', which should be separated by a full stop or a semicolon. You also have frequent errors with articles ('in upcoming summer') and prepositions ('good in gardening' should be 'good at gardening'). While the meaning is generally clear, these persistent grammatical errors and punctuation mistakes prevent the writing from reaching a higher band score.

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

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