Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-25

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 hope this letter finds you well. I'm writing this letter to inform you that I'm willing to hep you by visting your home for few hours.

I can help you in different tasks. Before starting, you should give me the list of things so that I can consider the important ones first in the "to do list" and mention at the end thosw tasks which can wait to be done.

I would like the work as you mentioned in the advertisement that you are an english speaker and my english speaking and listening skills are outstanding. This wil help us both. You demand anyone to work for few hours, this is what I'm looking for. I'm a college students and usally go to the college and get free by afternoon. So evening would works well to me. I'm available on the weekends as well.

I hope you will consider my abilities and speaking skills to allow me to come to join you at your home for few hours a day next summer. I will wait to hear back from you.

Kind Regards

Richard.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the three main points: you offer help with household tasks, explain that your English skills and college schedule motivate you, and give some availability information. However, the help you propose remains vague: “different tasks” and making a “to do list” do not tell Mrs Barrett what practical jobs you could do. Your reason for wanting the work is also only partly convincing, as the focus is mainly on being an English speaker rather than a clear personal or work-related motivation. You say evenings and weekends suit you, but do not specify which days or times you cannot work. Develop these details so the reader can understand exactly what you offer and when.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter has a recognisable opening, body and closing, and the ideas are generally relevant and understandable. The paragraph about your availability follows naturally from your explanation that you are a college student. However, the progression is not consistently clear: the “to do list” suggestion is quite general, and the reason for wanting the job and your schedule are combined in one long paragraph. Some linking is repetitive, particularly the repeated references to “few hours” and “home,” while “This will help us both” does not clearly explain how. Use separate paragraphs for the help you can offer, your motivation, and your availability, and make the connections between ideas more explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough everyday vocabulary to communicate the main message, including “advertisement,” “available,” “weekends,” and “consider.” There are also attempts to use phrases such as “to do list” and “speaking and listening skills.” However, the range is limited and some choices are inaccurate or awkward, which makes parts of the letter less natural: “hep,” “visting,” and “thosw” contain spelling errors, while “come to join you at your home” is an unnatural phrase. The description of possible household work is also too general. Choose precise task-related vocabulary, such as cleaning, preparing meals, or running errands, and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, for example, “Before starting, you should give me the list of things so that I can consider the important ones first.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in sentence structure, verb forms, agreement, and articles are frequent enough to make the writing uneven. Examples include “for few hours,” “I'm a college students,” “evening would works well to me,” and “You demand anyone to work.” These need forms such as “for a few hours,” “I’m a college student,” and “evenings would work well for me.” Practise accurate sentence patterns for availability and requests, and proofread each sentence for agreement and verb form.

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