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 Barret,

I am writing this letter to apply for the position of house helper for next summer as advertised by you.

To begin with, I would like to inform you about the services that I offer. I have studied culinary arts. Therefore, I have three years of experience as a private chef for various families. Moreover, I am skilled in cooking various cuisines. Although, my area of expertise includes primarily cooking, however, I offer cleaning services for the kitchen and living spaces.

One major reason for applying for this work is the nearby location. This will significantly reduce my commuting hours in order to achieve a better work-life balance.

Concerning the schedule, I would be available all five working days of week from Monday till Friday however, I require two days holiday.

Thank you for considering my application and I would be waiting for your response.

Yours faithfully,

Kainat

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have covered all three bullet points from the prompt effectively. You successfully suggested how you could help in her home by mentioning your culinary background and cleaning services for the kitchen and living spaces. You also clearly stated why you would like to do this work, highlighting the nearby location to reduce commuting hours and achieve work-life balance. Finally, you explained your availability, noting that you are available from Monday to Friday but require two days off. Your tone is appropriately formal for a letter to an acquaintance or potential employer, and the purpose of the communication is clear throughout. All aspects of the task have been addressed well, aligning closely with the requirements for a Band 7.0 score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

Your letter demonstrates a clear overall progression. You use logical connectors such as 'To begin with', 'Moreover', and 'Concerning the schedule' to guide the reader through your ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate your introduction, qualifications, reasons for applying, and availability. However, there is a minor mechanical issue with cohesion in the second paragraph where you use 'Although, my area of expertise includes primarily cooking, however, I offer...' by combining 'although' and 'however' in the same sentence, which is redundant and slightly awkward. Despite this minor flaw, the logical organisation remains clear throughout, supporting a solid Band 7.0 rating.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary with some attempts at less common items such as 'culinary arts', 'commutation hours', and 'work-life balance'. However, there are a few lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices. For example, 'house helper' is a bit unnatural compared to 'housekeeper' or 'domestic helper', and the spelling of 'Barret' in your salutation diverges from the prompt's 'Barrett' (though this is a minor copying slip). Additionally, the phrase 'two days holiday' could be expressed more naturally as 'two days off'. Because your vocabulary is adequate for the task with appropriate attempts at professional phrasing, this corresponds to a Band 6.5 score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional or concessive clauses ('Although, my area of expertise...'). There are some grammatical errors and punctuation issues, most notably the double conjunction error in 'Although, my area of expertise includes primarily cooking, however, I offer cleaning services...' where you should choose either 'although' or 'however', but not both. Additionally, you wrote 'all five working days of week' missing the article 'the' before 'week'. Punctuation is also slightly cluttered with extra spaces and unnecessary commas. However, these errors do not impede communication and you maintain good control over the majority of your sentences, warranting a Band 6.5 score.

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

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