Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-12

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 7.0)

Dear Mr Johnson,

I hope you are doing well. This is Ajibade Mariam, the lady you met on the Ethopian Airline, specifically the flight from Nigeria to Nairobi on the 17th of June, 2026. I sat beside you in the plane, and during our conversation, you told me that you own a chain of restaurants across the globe. Then, I told you that I was a chef and you asked me to reach out to you for a potential job offer.

I am writing this letter to inform you about my interest in the role of a chef in one of your eateries in Lagos. Having completed my program in culinary school, it would be a great opportunity to work in a fine dining restaurant like yours.

I believe that I am eligible for this role because I am a certified chef from a reputable culinary school in Lagos, where I gained hands-on skills and experience on how to make a wide variety of local and international cuisine. Additionally, I have good communication skills and team spirit, which I believe are essential qualities required for an individual to work in a big enterprise.

I hope my application is taken into consideration, and I look forward to a favourable response.

Yours faithfully,

Mariam

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The letter addresses all three required points clearly: you identify the flight and date, specify that you want a chef position in Lagos, and explain your culinary training and relevant personal qualities. The details about meeting on the Nigeria-to-Nairobi flight and discussing his restaurants make the purpose easy to understand, while your qualifications provide relevant support. The response is appropriately framed as a formal enquiry and ends with a clear request for consideration. To make the case more fully developed, add a specific example of your cooking experience or a particular contribution you could make to his restaurant. This would strengthen the suitability point beyond general claims about skills and teamwork.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5

The information is arranged in a clear progression: you remind the recipient of the meeting, state the job you want, explain your suitability, and close politely. Paragraphing supports this sequence, and linking expressions such as “Then,” “Additionally,” and “because” help show how the ideas relate. The letter is easy to follow throughout. Some connections are slightly mechanical, however, and the opening paragraph contains several details in a long sequence. You could improve the flow by linking the conversation more naturally to your present request and varying transitions rather than relying on explicit connectors. Overall, the organisation is effective, with room for more seamless cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range of vocabulary for a formal job enquiry, including “potential job offer,” “hands-on skills,” “wide variety,” and “favourable response.” These choices communicate your purpose and qualifications clearly, and the tone is generally appropriate. Some expressions are less natural or precise: “on the Ethopian Airline” would be better expressed as “on an Ethiopian Airlines flight,” while “eligible for this role” is less suitable than language describing your qualifications or suitability. “Team spirit” is understandable but somewhat general in a professional application. Greater accuracy with spelling and collocation, alongside more specific vocabulary about your culinary experience, would make the language more flexible and polished.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

The letter includes a useful mix of sentence forms, including complex structures such as “Having completed my program in culinary school, it would be a great opportunity…” and “because I am a certified chef…”. Most sentences are clear, and punctuation and paragraphing are generally controlled. A few grammatical choices need refinement. In “I gained hands-on skills and experience on how to make,” the preposition pattern is awkward; use “experience in preparing” instead. The opening identification sentence is also long and would be clearer if divided or restructured. In addition, “it would be a great opportunity” has an unclear reference, since the opportunity is to work, not the completed program itself. More precise sentence construction would strengthen an otherwise clear response.

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