Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-12

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You work for an international company. You have seen an advertisement for a training course which will be useful for your job.

Write a letter to your manager. In your letter

• describe the training course you want to do
• explain what the company could do to help you
• say how the course will be useful for your job

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter to express my feeling to participate in training course which I seen on your advertisement recently. I would like to join the training course.

The training course name is information technology. I am working in IT company over the last few years. But I am still struggling with some of the technology which I am not use to it.

I would like to know more about this training course such as duration of the training course and when it will start. If you can provide me more details about this course it would be helpful.

This course helping me to understand more about the technology. What are the advantages of using the particular software. It will help me to manage my work and save my time because I can do multiple tasks at once.

I am looking forward to hear you back with some information.

Your’s faithfully,

Janvi S.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt, which is a positive start. However, the development of your ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, when explaining what the company could do to help, you simply ask for more details about the course rather than suggesting specific support like financial assistance or time off. Additionally, the description of the course is vague; you mention it is 'information technology' but do not provide specific details about the content. To improve, ensure you provide more concrete information and clearly explain how the company can support your professional development.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite mechanical and sometimes repetitive. For example, you start several sentences with 'The training course' or 'This course'. The logical flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words such as 'furthermore', 'consequently', or 'in addition'. While the overall message is clear, the transitions between your points feel a bit abrupt, which affects the smoothness of the reading experience.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the range and precision required for a higher band. You rely on basic phrasing, such as 'express my feeling' and 'struggling with some of the technology'. There are also some minor errors in word choice, such as 'I am not use to it' (should be 'used to') and 'hear you back' (should be 'hear back from you'). To improve, try to incorporate more professional and topic-specific vocabulary related to workplace training and IT.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include 'which I seen' (should be 'which I saw' or 'have seen'), 'This course helping me' (should be 'This course will help me'), and the incorrect sign-off 'Your’s faithfully' (should be 'Yours faithfully'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to lower the score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct verb tenses will significantly improve your accuracy.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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