Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-16

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 , how are yu? Hope yu doing good, i am writing this letter about a job i asked yu before , i met yu at air canada flight recently , where yu explained me about series of restaurants chain yu have all over world.

I want to let yu know that i want to become cook, as its my childhood dream now i want to my dream to come true and cooking is my passion and yu know that once your hobby become your work , one gives his one thousand percent, as i am fododie also i can cook several cuisine especially india which is popular all over the world.

I am perfect for your sir for this job because i know i am hardest worker in the room and i have i blueprint in my head which will execute when i start working with yu which will take your another level similar to michlen star restaurnat

Regards

Manni

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter covers all three bullet points: it identifies the meeting context, specifies the desired role, and explains suitability. However, the tone is inconsistent and overly informal for a business communication. While the ideas are relevant, they are somewhat underdeveloped; for instance, the claim of having a 'blueprint' is vague and lacks professional substance. The response addresses the prompt's requirements, but the lack of formal register and the brevity of the explanation regarding suitability limit the depth of the response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is very limited and often mechanical. There is a reliance on simple conjunctions, and the transition between ideas is sometimes abrupt. For example, the jump from discussing the 'childhood dream' to being a 'foodie' lacks a smooth logical bridge. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the overall flow is hindered by the informal, fragmented sentence structure.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is quite basic and repetitive, with frequent informal abbreviations like 'yu' instead of 'you'. There are several spelling errors, such as 'fododie', 'michlen', and 'restaurnat', which detract from the professional tone required for a job application. While the student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'cuisine' and 'blueprint', the overall range is limited and the persistent spelling and stylistic errors impede the professional impact of the letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains frequent grammatical errors, including missing articles ('become cook'), incorrect verb forms ('where yu explained me'), and run-on sentences. Punctuation is inconsistent, with spaces before commas and a lack of proper sentence boundaries. The range of structures is limited to simple or compound sentences with errors in almost every line. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of basic errors in grammar and punctuation significantly affects the quality of the writing.

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

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