Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-20
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 saw in advertisement that you are looking for helper for your home. I am writing this letter to inform you about, I am a professional worker who has good ability to work.
I can help you in your daily household work like cooking, cleaning, mopping as well as I would also do gardening work. I really want to do this work because the firstly, it's close to my house where I'm leaving so it's convenient me to travel. and in summer I was looking for this kind of job for very long time so I am very passionate about this work.
in addition, My availability is Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. additionally, if you need my help on weekend I am also available for a few hours in the morning.
I would appreciate if you could hire me.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Your faithfully,
Keya Patel
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response covers all three bullet points required in the prompt. You successfully suggest how you could help Mrs Barrett by mentioning household chores such as 'cooking, cleaning, mopping' and 'gardening work'. You also explain why you would like to do this work, noting that the job is close to your house and that you have been looking for this kind of job for a long time. Finally, your availability is clearly stated, specifying Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and offering weekend mornings if needed. All parts of the task are adequately addressed, earning a solid band score for this criterion.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear beginning and ending. Paragraphing is utilised to separate distinct ideas, such as your proposed help, your motivation, and your availability. However, there are noticeable issues with cohesive devices and referencing. Phrases like 'because the firstly' are awkward, and some sentences are joined with loose conjunctions or lack necessary transitional links, making the flow a bit mechanical. Overall referencing is generally understandable, but cohesion can be improved for smoother transitions between ideas.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
Your vocabulary is adequate for completing a general task of this nature, using common terms related to household chores and work availability. However, there are notable limitations and word choice inaccuracies, such as 'saw in advertisement' instead of 'saw an advertisement' and 'leaving' instead of 'living'. You attempt some less common expressions like 'professional worker' and 'passionate', but errors in collocation and phrasing mean the vocabulary range remains at a modest level. Precision and natural phrasing need further development.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors throughout the text, including missing articles ('in advertisement', 'helper for your home'), tense inconsistencies ('in summer I was looking' instead of 'I have been looking'), and run-on clauses linked improperly with commas and conjunctions ('so it's convenient me to travel. and in summer...'). While communication of your message is not entirely impeded, the high frequency of basic grammatical errors keeps the score at this level.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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