Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-12

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 5.0)

Dear malik

I’m the man that you mett the last day ,we talked about your chain restaurants and I’m interested in working with you i got a master degree in economics and an experience of two years in working as a manger in a kfc restaurant soo i can see my self as a manger in your restaurant because of my experience nd my studies and because i like your restaurant style and when i asked about the team and salary i was surprised so i am all in, if you like my cv contact me on my number [redacted phone] or email me

Thanks abdellatif

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The candidate has partially covered the requirements of the task. They successfully reminded the businessman where they met ("I’m the man that you mett the last day ,we talked about your chain restaurants"), stated the job they are interested in ("working as a manger in a kfc restaurant soo i can see my self as a manger in your restaurant"), and provided reasons for suitability based on experience and studies. However, the tone is overly informal and direct for a business correspondence context, and crucially, the length requirement has not been met. The response contains only 105 words, falling well short of the 150-word minimum, which significantly impacts the development and completion of the task. Therefore, this criterion is capped at a lower band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter lacks appropriate paragraphing and is essentially written as one continuous, run-on block of text. Cohesive devices are minimal and basic, relying heavily on consecutive coordinating conjunctions like "and" (e.g., "...and an experience of two years... and because i like... and when i asked..."). There is a lack of clear logical progression and adequate punctuation to guide the reader through the text. While the overall purpose of the letter can be understood, the structural organisation does not meet the standards of higher bands. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the mechanical flow pulls the score down into the lower-middle range.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, with clear limitations in range and precision. The writer uses words like "man", "chain restaurants", "job", and "restaurant" multiple times. There are also several lexical and spelling errors, such as "mett" instead of met, "manger" instead of manager, and "soo". Although the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the basic message and express interest in employment, the frequent spelling inaccuracies and lack of sophisticated or less common lexical items prevent the writer from achieving a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

The grammatical range is quite limited, consisting mostly of lengthy, run-on simple sentences joined by coordinating conjunctions without proper punctuation. There is a lack of varied complex structures, and punctuation is largely neglected, with missing capitalisation at the start of sentences and improper comma usage. Grammatical errors are frequent, such as tense and agreement inconsistencies ("i got a master degree" instead of "I hold a Master's degree" or "I have a master's degree"). These errors and the lack of structural variety cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect a weak grasp of formal grammatical control.

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

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