Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-29
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 5.0)
dear mrs barrett,
i hope you doing well, i just found you need help for your home tasks for short hours a day next summer. i will post advertise on my social media if like anybody wants a short day work .
i would like to help you because you are new in my town so you dont know about the city, so i can do my best to help you either way . you just make a list whatever you need any anything like food, cleaning etc.
actually i want to tell you about my availability , i am not available on tuesday and friday because i have to go for school, so just consider my days.
if you have any concern please call me at[redacted phone].
your faithfully
sam
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response touches upon all three bullet points required in the prompt: you suggest how you can help with home tasks, explain your motivation because Mrs Barrett is new to town, and outline your availability regarding Tuesdays and Fridays. However, the tone is somewhat informal and conversational rather than appropriately polite for a formal letter to an acquaintance or neighbour. Furthermore, the length check confirms that the text contains 130 words, which fails to meet the 150-word minimum requirement. This under-length impacts the full development of ideas, leading to a Band 5.0 score for Task Achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The letter lacks proper paragraphing, as most of the text is lumped together into a single block following the salutation. Cohesive devices are very basic and mechanical, relying on simple connectors like 'and' or commas. Although the progression of ideas is somewhat clear—moving from the purpose of the letter to the offer of help, and finally to availability—the lack of structural layout and paragraph breaks means the overall organization is limited, fitting the Band 5.0 descriptor.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
Vocabulary usage is basic and repetitive throughout the response. Phrases like 'home tasks', 'short hours', and 'short day work' are simplistic. There are also noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations, such as 'post advertise' instead of 'advertise' or 'post an advertisement', and 'either way' where it does not fit the context. The lexical range is limited but minimally adequate to convey basic meaning, which aligns with a Band 5.0 rating.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The text features a limited range of grammatical structures, consisting mostly of simple and somewhat faulty complex sentences. There are frequent punctuation and capitalization errors, such as starting sentences and the pronoun 'i' in lowercase. Grammatical errors are also present, including the missing auxiliary verb in 'i hope you doing well' and incorrect prepositional use in 'go for school' instead of 'go to school'. These frequent errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, placing the grammar at a Band 5.0 level.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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