Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-25

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,

The most respectfully, I beg to say that, I need your assistance in my decision, that is to apply for a training course. I recently saw an advertisement published in a local newspaper. This is about the training of 'AI Courses In Marketing'. I am very enthusiastic about this opportunity.

I have significant communication skills, and I am very curious about learning new things. In addition, I am very dedicated and hard worker. I shall be very thankful to you, if you please recommend me as a selected person eligible for this course.

This course will help me to enhance my professional skills, and would provide me certain prowess essential to make progress in my field. I will contribute to your company more efficiently, and will prove a useful person in the group of succeful employees.

Yours obediently,

Sobia.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

You have addressed all three bullet points: describing the course, explaining how the company can help, and stating the benefits. However, the response is under the 150-word minimum, which limits the development of your ideas. For example, the description of the course is quite brief, and the explanation of how the company can help is limited to a request for a recommendation. To improve, you should expand on the specific content of the AI course and provide more detail on the type of support you need, such as time off or financial assistance. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter, though the opening is slightly archaic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your points. You use some cohesive devices like 'In addition' and 'Furthermore' (though you used 'In addition' twice). However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the transition between the introduction and the body paragraphs could be smoother. The use of referencing is generally clear, but the overall structure lacks the sophistication required for higher bands. To improve, try to vary your linking words and ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence that connects back to the main purpose of the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, but it is somewhat repetitive and relies on basic phrasing. Phrases like 'I am very dedicated' and 'I am very curious' are simple. You attempt some more formal language with words like 'prowess' and 'enthusiastic', which is good, but 'prowess' is used slightly unnaturally in this context. There are also minor errors, such as 'succeful' (spelling) and 'selected person eligible' (word choice). To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and avoiding repetitive sentence starters.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the flow. For instance, 'The most respectfully, I beg to say that' is grammatically incorrect and overly formal; a simple 'I am writing to express my interest' would be more natural. You also have issues with punctuation and article usage, such as 'the training of AI Courses' and 'a useful person in the group of succeful employees'. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall accuracy of your writing.

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

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