Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-26

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

purpose of letter:- application for job in your restaurant

i am writing this letter to remind you that few days back on boxing day we meet in fligh boarding to vancouver from calgary.

it was really a honour for me to meet you. if you remembered we talked about your recently opened restaurant in abbortsford and you were finding difficult to handle it as it is your first business. As i told while travelling that i just moved here and everything is new for me, now i am looking for manager job and i guess i am appropriate person for your restaurant because of my experience in food sector from last 17 years. i request you to please give a chance to show my skills and make your place more profitable. if you liked my idea you can give me a call on [redacted phone] anytime.

your faithfull

sumit sethi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter covers all three bullet points required by the prompt: it identifies the meeting context, specifies the desired role (manager), and explains the candidate's suitability through their 17 years of experience. However, the tone is inconsistent and lacks the formal register expected in a professional business letter. The inclusion of a 'purpose of letter' heading is unnecessary and unconventional for this task type. While the ideas are relevant, they are somewhat brief and could be expanded to better demonstrate the candidate's professional suitability. The letter successfully conveys the necessary information to the recipient, fulfilling the basic requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into a single block of text, which lacks proper paragraphing. A formal letter should ideally separate the introduction, the body (the request and justification), and the closing into distinct paragraphs to improve readability. The use of cohesive devices is limited and somewhat mechanical, such as the transition 'As i told'. The flow of ideas is generally logical, but the lack of paragraph structure makes the text feel disjointed. To improve, you should use clear paragraph breaks and a wider variety of linking words to connect your sentences more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the sophistication expected at higher bands. There are several errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'fligh' instead of 'flight', 'honour' (which is correct but used in a slightly awkward context), and 'faithfull' instead of 'faithfully'. The phrasing is often simplistic, such as 'finding difficult to handle it' and 'give a chance'. To achieve a higher score, you should aim for more precise professional terminology, such as 'management position' instead of 'manager job' and 'industry experience' instead of 'experience in food sector'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including issues with verb tense ('we meet' instead of 'we met'), article usage ('in fligh' instead of 'on the flight'), and sentence structure. The punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing capital letters at the start of sentences and improper use of commas. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors in basic sentence construction prevents the text from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage would significantly improve the clarity and professional quality of your writing.

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

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