Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-04
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,
My name is Miral Ahir and I am an employee of your company. I am writing this letter to inform you about my course which I would like to do for improve my work.
First of all, currently, I show an advertisement for a training course about digital marketing. Actually, I want to take this course for many years because I am very intrested in it and really want to improve my knowledge about this course. So,today I have a chance to take it and gain more knowledge about it and understand it. Also, it helps me in my office work. So, it helpful for me in many ways.
I hope you could help me for taking this course.So, I request to you could give me a half day off for 2 months because my course duration time is 2 months and it starts 2 o`clock to 4 p.m.
Moreover, this couse will be helpful for my job because i will learn new skills related to digital marketing. With these skills, I can improve my work and support the company in better ways.
I hope you accept my request and help me. I look forward your prompt response as soon as possible.
Yours faithfully,
Miral Ahir
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses the main parts of the task by mentioning the digital marketing training course, requesting company assistance in the form of a half-day off for two months, and explaining the benefits for your job. However, some ideas remain limited and under-developed. For instance, the description of the course lacks specific details about the curriculum or provider, and the explanation of how the company can help is somewhat brief. Additionally, the greeting 'Dear Sir' does not match the prompt instruction 'Dear Sir or Madam,' though the overall purpose of the formal request is communicated. To reach a higher level, you would need to extend and fully develop each bullet point with more specific, relevant details and a clearer sense of purpose throughout.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The letter displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear beginning and ending, and the paragraphing is used adequately to separate different parts of your message. You attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'First of all', 'Also', and 'Moreover' to guide the reader. However, the use of these connectors is at times mechanical and repetitive, and some sentences lack smooth transitions, making the progression feel a bit disjointed. Referencing can also be unclear, such as when repeating pronouns without a clear antecedent. To achieve a higher standard, you should employ a wider and more flexible variety of cohesive devices naturally without over-relying on basic transitional markers, ensuring a seamless flow of ideas from one paragraph to the next.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
Your vocabulary is minimally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey basic information about the training request. However, the range of words is limited, and there are noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and word formation that draw the reader's attention. For example, expressions like 'for improve my work' contain incorrect infinitive forms, 'intrested' contains a spelling error, and 'couse' is misspelled. You also rely heavily on simple, repetitive phrasing ('gain more knowledge', 'helpful for me'). To improve to a higher level, you need to use a wider range of less common lexical items accurately and demonstrate better control over word forms and collocations.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The text shows a limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple sentences joined by basic coordinating conjunctions. When you attempt complex structures, such as 'I hope you could help me for taking this course' or 'I request to you could give me', they are frequently faulty and contain grammatical errors. There are also errors in prepositions, verb patterns, and punctuation throughout the letter. These frequent errors can cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect a restricted grammatical repertoire. To progress, you should practise incorporating a greater variety of error-free complex sentence forms with accurate verb tenses, prepositions, and clausal structures.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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