Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-13

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 6.5)

Dear Mrs Barrett,

I am writing this letter in response to the advertisement that I saw on the newspaper, which says, you are looking out for someone to help in your home for a few hours a day next summer.

To begin with, I am good at cooking. I am a certified chef and has past experience of working under famous chefs all around the world. I can cook all sort of cuisines for you including the Chinese, Continental, Thai, and so on. In addition to this, I am good at finance and can help you with correct and profitable investments, if required. Furthermore, I can also help you with groceries. I usually prefer to go to market and purchase fresh items as they are good for health.

There are several reasons for me to apply for this opportunity. Firstly, I am planning to move to this locality. My family wants to settle here as it is the central location of the town. Moreover, your house is close to my office and I can definitely manage working few hours a day to help you with your preferred activity.

Although I prefer to work after my office timings, that is, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., however, I can manage to be available from 1 p.m. onwards on weekdays for this job. On weekends, I will be available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. As i work fora fintech company, my phone is not allowed inside the office. Therefore, I won't be available before 2 p.m.

I hope you will consider me for this opportunity and I will be happy to assist you with your work.

Warm Regards,

Gaurav

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The candidate has successfully covered all three bullet points required in the task instructions. They suggested specific ways to help Mrs Barrett around the home, including cooking, financial advice, and grocery shopping. They also provided clear reasons for wanting the job, noting their intention to move to the area and the proximity of the house to their office. Finally, availability is outlined, detailing working hours and weekday/weekend constraints. The tone is appropriate for a semi-formal letter, and the purpose is clear throughout. Although the mention of financial advice is slightly unusual for general household help, it remains a relevant idea and is well developed within the context of the letter, fully satisfying the requirements for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organised with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Each paragraph focuses on a distinct theme corresponding to the task prompts, such as the initial proposal, reasons for applying, and availability. Cohesive devices are used effectively to guide the reader, including phrases like 'To begin with,' 'In addition to this,' and 'Furthermore.' Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different ideas. However, the connection between sentences could occasionally be smoother, and minor referencing slips occur, such as 'As i work fora fintech company,' but the overall progression of information remains clear and logical throughout the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The candidate demonstrates an adequate to good range of vocabulary appropriate for a general task. Phrases like 'certified chef,' 'profitable investments,' and 'fintech company' show a good attempt at less common lexical items. However, there are some minor collocation and word choice inaccuracies, such as 'saw on the newspaper' (instead of 'in') and 'all sort of cuisines' (instead of 'sorts'). Despite these minor slips, the vocabulary used is sufficient to convey the intended meaning clearly without impeding the reader's understanding.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional clauses ('if required') and relative clauses ('that I saw on the newspaper'). There are, however, several grammatical errors present, most notably a subject-verb agreement error ('I am a certified chef and has past experience') and spacing issues ('fora'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, though some awkward phrasing exists, such as 'Although I prefer to work... however, I can manage...' which results in a double connector. The frequency of these errors places the writing firmly at a Band 6, where simple and complex forms are mixed with occasional mistakes that rarely impede overall communication.

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.