Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-16
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 am writing this letter regarding to your advertisement to help you in your house for certain hours a dat in next summer.
My name is kajol. I live nearby your home.I am in need of job,as i have to save money for my tuition fee. I am very good in cleaning a house. I am also a good cook. Apart from these two i have the knowledge of gardening. I can help you to maintain your garden. I am very organized person. I can take good care of your house. I have my classes on Monday, wednesday and thursday. These days i am not available to work as i have to go to the university. i am available rest of other days to work.
Please let me know if i meet your requirements to hire. I am waiting for your reply.
Kind regards,
Kajol Belbase
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response covers all three bullet points from the prompt: you suggest how you can help (cleaning, cooking, gardening), explain why you would like to do the work (to save money for your tuition fee), and specify your availability (Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday you are at university; free on other days). The tone is appropriately polite for a letter to an acquaintance or neighbour. However, a major issue is the length requirement: the prompt states that you must write at least 150 words, but your response contains only 149 words, falling one word short. Because this strict minimum requirement was not met, it has negatively impacted your score for Task Achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The letter follows a logical structure with a standard greeting and sign-off. You organise your ideas sequentially, moving from the purpose of the letter to your skills, availability, and a closing request. However, the paragraphing is weak; the main body is lumped together into one block of text rather than being divided into logical paragraphs for different topics (such as separating your skills from your availability). Cohesive devices are also very basic, relying heavily on simple transitions like 'I am also' and 'Apart from these two'. Additionally, the referencing in phrases like 'rest of other days' is slightly unnatural.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
Your vocabulary is adequate for a basic transactional letter, but it remains quite limited and repetitive. You frequently use simple phrasing such as 'help you in your house', 'good cook', and 'good at cleaning a house'. There are also lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as writing 'regarding to' instead of 'regarding' or 'with regard to', and using 'dat' instead of 'day' due to a typo. While your meaning is generally clear, there is a lack of less common or more sophisticated lexical items that would push the score into a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
You demonstrate a mix of simple sentence structures with some attempts at slightly more extended sentences. However, there are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues throughout the text. For instance, you wrote 'regarding to your advertisement to help you in your house for certain hours a dat in next summer', where 'in next summer' should simply be 'next summer'. There are also capitalization errors, such as starting sentences with lowercase letters ('as i have to save money') and capitalizing proper nouns incorrectly ('kajol'). Punctuation around connectors is occasionally missing or misplaced, though your sentences remain largely understandable despite these errors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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