Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-10

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

During a recent plane journey, you sat next to a businessman who owns a chain of restaurants. You talked to him and he suggested that you should contact him about a possible job in one of his restaurants.

Write a letter to this businessman. In your letter

• remind him when and where you met
• tell him what kind of job you are interested in
• say why you think you would be suitable for the job

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ................. ,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Sir,

I hope this letter finds you well.

I am writing this letter to you because during our recent plane journey from Ottawa to Tornoto you sat next to me in Vistara Airlines it was a pleasure to talked to you.

During that conversation i learnt many things from you and you motivated me a lot that how you started your journey and you came to Canada with pennies in your poket and now you are one of the top businessman that is quiet motivational for everyone.

I am really looking forward to work under your supervision and i do have a qualification to work in a restaurant and i used to work in a restaurant in Ottawa city named Thai express .

I can work as a front desk as well as kitchen staff or whatever the poisition is available for me.

I am requesting you to accept my application and if you need anything else regarding my job verification such as my resume , Sin number , police verification I will be always happy to provide you.

Yours lovingly,

Hardi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the main purpose by referring to the flight, expressing interest in restaurant work, and offering reasons for your suitability, including your qualification and previous experience at Thai Express. However, the meeting details are not fully clear: you mention Ottawa and the airline, but the sentence does not clearly state when the journey took place. Your job preference is also broad—“front desk as well as kitchen staff or whatever the position is available”—rather than identifying a particular role. The suitability point needs more development; explain what duties you performed or which skills you gained in your previous restaurant job. A more specific request for a particular opportunity would make the letter more complete and persuasive.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter follows a generally sensible order: it recalls the conversation, describes your interest in working for the businessman, and ends with an offer to provide documents. Paragraph breaks help separate these points. Some connections are less clear, however. The long sentence beginning “during our recent plane journey” combines the route, airline, and your reaction without clear punctuation, making the meeting reminder harder to follow. The paragraph about his career also takes up space without linking clearly to your job application. Use shorter, focused sentences and make the progression explicit—for example, move from the meeting reminder directly to the role you want, then explain how your experience prepares you for it.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the situation, including “qualification,” “supervision,” “kitchen staff,” and “resume,” so the reader can understand the general purpose of the letter. However, the range is limited and several choices or spellings reduce precision, such as “quiet motivational,” “poisition,” and “pocket.” Some expressions are also not natural for a formal job enquiry: “work under your supervision” and “accept my application” do not clearly express that you are asking about an available position. Choose more precise employment language, such as “apply for a role” or “restaurant experience,” and check spelling carefully. A more formal closing would also suit the relationship better than “Yours lovingly.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some longer sentence forms, but control is uneven, and errors sometimes make the message difficult to follow. For example, “you sat next to me in Vistara Airlines it was a pleasure to talked to you” joins separate clauses without appropriate punctuation and uses an incorrect verb form. In “I am really looking forward to work,” the verb pattern should be “looking forward to working.” Capitalisation is inconsistent in “i,” and the sentence about the businessman’s journey has an unclear structure. Use a mix of shorter, accurate sentences and a few carefully formed complex ones. Check verb patterns, sentence boundaries, and capital letters before sending the letter.

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

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