Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-26

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,

My name is Harman Kahlon and I saw your advert regarding a househelp for the next summer. I am writing this letter to offer my help to do work at your home.

I am a part-time intern in residential home and I love spending time in helping people with their extra burden. Apparently, I am quite comfortable in doing household chores such as basic cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping and even decorating the house if needed.

I read the advertisement stating you will be undergoing a surgery and won't be able to work properly. I am all-in to help you out with every single thing you wish me to do. The only limitation is that I won't be available on weekends as I have a tutoring class on French language. Most importantly, I know how to communicate in english language and a good chef to prepare you meals of your choice.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Harman

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the main purposes of the letter: you offer household help, explain your interest in helping people, and state that you are unavailable at weekends. The examples of cleaning, laundry and grocery shopping make your offer relevant. However, availability is only partly explained because you do not say which weekdays or hours you can work. The reason for wanting the job is also brief, and the reference to Mrs Barrett’s surgery is not established in the task, so it may seem like an unsupported assumption. Develop these points and make the offer more specific—for example, give your available days and explain what experience or personal motivation makes you suitable. A polite closing is appropriate, though a more formal sign-off would suit the letter.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: you introduce yourself and your purpose, describe the help you can provide, then mention a limitation and close. This makes the message easy to follow. Paragraphing also separates the main ideas reasonably well. Some connections between points are less clear, however. For instance, “Most importantly” introduces your English ability and cooking skills after the weekend limitation, although these are additional qualifications rather than the most important point in that sequence. The surgery reference also appears abruptly. Use transitions that show the relationship between ideas, and group your availability with a clear statement of the days and times you can work. This would make the progression more natural and the cohesion less mechanical.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for household assistance, including “basic cleaning,” “laundry,” “grocery shopping” and “tutoring class.” These details help communicate the kind of support you can offer. There are also noticeable word-choice and collocation problems that make parts of the letter sound unnatural, such as “a househelp,” “do work at your home,” “extra burden” and “all-in.” “English” should also be capitalised. Aim for more natural, precise expressions and a consistently polite register: for example, describe yourself as offering “household assistance” and say you would be “happy to help with” particular tasks. This would make your vocabulary more accurate and appropriate for a formal letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the relative clause in “stating you will be undergoing a surgery and won't be able to work properly.” Most of the message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors and awkward constructions are present. For example, “I am a part-time intern in residential home” is missing an article, and “I am quite comfortable in doing” uses an unsuitable preposition pattern. The sentence “I know how to communicate in english language and a good chef” also lacks a grammatical link between its two ideas. Practise article use, verb patterns such as “comfortable doing,” and complete parallel sentence structures. These corrections would improve accuracy while preserving the range of sentence forms you already attempt.

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