Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-20
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 Thomas, CEO of kings Night
I hope you are great. I am Logan and i hope you remind me we met on a plane journey from Vancouver to Calgary last week of June. I was sat next to you in a seat number 32F. The meal of the flight is awful and you do not like that then i offered you the dish that was cooked by me. You said you really likes dish.
During the conversation you had told me that you owned a chain of resturants and I am also interest in applying for a postion of line cook at your city cenral resturant.
I already had a experience of three years as a line cook. The city central resturant post they needs a proffesional line cook for thai dishes and i already knew how to perpare them that will beneficial for your resturant and for me as well. I looking forward for you reply for interview for this postion.
Kindly Regards,
Logan Paul
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
You address all three requested points: you identify the Vancouver–Calgary flight and approximate time, request a line-cook position, and give relevant reasons, including three years’ experience and familiarity with Thai dishes. These details make the letter purposeful and generally relevant. However, the meeting reminder is not fully clear: “I hope you remind me” sounds as though you are asking the recipient to remember you, and the seat detail does not add much. Your suitability is supported by experience and cooking knowledge, but could be developed with a specific example of your skills or contribution. A clearer opening and fuller explanation of your strengths would make the response more complete and persuasive.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The information follows a sensible overall order: you recall the flight, refer to the conversation, then explain the job you want and why you may suit it. Paragraph breaks also help distinguish the main stages of the letter. Some connections between ideas are less clear, however. For example, the sentence about the poor meal and offering your dish is difficult to follow, and “The city central restaurant post they needs…” does not clearly connect the vacancy to your experience. The closing request for an interview is also joined to the preceding idea without a clear sentence boundary. Use shorter, complete sentences and clearer links such as “As we discussed” or “In addition” to make the progression easier to follow.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use vocabulary relevant to the situation, including “chain of restaurants,” “line cook,” “experience,” and “Thai dishes,” so the reader can understand the purpose of the letter. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, spelling, and collocation errors reduce precision: “postion,” “resturants,” “perpare,” and “I am also interest” are examples. Some phrases are also unnatural, such as “the meal of the flight” and “for you reply.” These issues do not prevent the main message from being understood, but they make the letter less professional. Build a bank of natural job-application phrases and check spelling and word forms carefully before sending a formal letter.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a relative clause in “the dish that was cooked by me” and a reason clause about your experience. However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction occur across the letter. For example, “you really likes dish” should be “you really liked the dish,” while “I looking forward” needs “I am looking forward.” The opening sentence, “I hope you are great,” is also not formed naturally for this context. Some sentences combine several ideas without clear grammatical boundaries, which makes them harder to read. Practise accurate past-tense narration and complete sentence patterns, then proofread for subject–verb agreement and missing articles.
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