Band 9.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 9.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-30

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 9.0)

Dear Simon,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to follow up on the conversation we had during our recent flight from Delhi to Goa. We were seated next to each other, and you mentioned that I could contact you if I was interested in working in one of your restaurants.

After our conversation, I gave some thought to your offer and looked at the vacancies in your restaurants. I would be particularly interested in a position as a front-desk assistant or receptionist. I believe this role would be a good match for my skills and experience.

I have five years of experience working in a four-star hotel, where I was responsible for welcoming guests, handling reservations, answering enquiries, and dealing with customer complaints. This experience has helped me develop excellent communication and customer-service skills. I am also comfortable working under pressure and dealing with people from different backgrounds. Therefore, I believe I could make a positive contribution to your restaurant and provide customers with a welcoming first impression.

I would be grateful if you could let me know whether there are any suitable vacancies available at present. I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Sam

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 9.0

The response fully addresses all three bullet points of the task. You clearly identified the context of the meeting (flight from Delhi to Goa), specified the desired role (front-desk assistant or receptionist), and provided a strong justification for your suitability by highlighting your five years of experience in a four-star hotel. The tone is consistently professional and appropriate for a formal business letter. The ideas are well-developed and directly relevant to the prompt, demonstrating a clear understanding of the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 9.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph serves a distinct purpose, moving from the introduction to the specific request and finally to the justification of skills. Cohesive devices such as 'After our conversation,' 'Therefore,' and 'I would be grateful if' are used effectively to link sentences and paragraphs. The structure is coherent, and the flow of information is natural and easy to follow throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 8.5

You demonstrate a wide and precise range of vocabulary appropriate for a professional context. Phrases such as 'follow up on the conversation,' 'make a positive contribution,' and 'handling reservations' show good control of collocation and register. The language is natural and sophisticated, with no errors in word choice or spelling. You successfully use specific terminology related to the hospitality industry, which enhances the quality of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 8.5

The writing exhibits a high level of grammatical accuracy with a variety of complex sentence structures. You effectively use conditional clauses ('if I was interested'), relative clauses ('where I was responsible for...'), and participial phrases. The majority of sentences are error-free, and punctuation is used correctly throughout. There is a high degree of flexibility and control, which is characteristic of a high-band response.

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

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