Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-29

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 Mr. Smith,

Good Day! I am writing this letter to inform you my intentions to work at your famous restaurant in Japan. I am the one you met on airplane, and we are two seats apart travelling to Shibuya, Japan. I am fully interested for your proposal job in your restaurant, where my experienced as a chef will have a perfect fit to your company.

We know that your restaurants was the most popular cuisine in Shibuya, and it is considered as the tourist spot for the foreigners going there. However, I want to express my gratitude to apply in your company, because it is a big opportunity for me to work as a chef in your company.

Please let me know for the possible interview, eventhough face to face will be better. Hoping for your immediate response with my application. Thank you so much for this opportunity.

Yours Faithfully,

Christian Kenneth Idio

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three required points: you remind Mr Smith that you met on the plane while travelling to Shibuya, state that you want to work as a chef, and refer to your experience as a chef as a reason you would fit the role. The purpose of the letter is clear and the details are relevant. However, the suitability point is only briefly supported: you mention experience but give no example of your skills, previous responsibilities, or achievements. The reference to his restaurants being popular and a tourist spot does not add much to your application. Develop your case with one or two specific qualifications or strengths, and make the job request more precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter follows a generally understandable order: it opens with the reason for writing, recalls the meeting, explains your interest, and closes by requesting an interview. The paragraphs also separate the main points to some extent. However, the progression is not always smooth. For example, “We know that your restaurants was the most popular cuisine” shifts abruptly from your experience to a claim about the business, and “However” does not express a clear contrast here. Some links between ideas are also unclear, particularly in the opening paragraph, where several points are compressed together. Use paragraphs for distinct purposes and connect each point logically, rather than relying on transitions that do not match the relationship between ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use vocabulary relevant to a job application, including “proposal,” “experienced as a chef,” “opportunity,” and “interview,” so your meaning is generally understandable. There are, however, several inaccurate or unnatural word choices and collocations that limit precision. “Proposal job” is not a natural way to refer to the suggested position, while “popular cuisine” describes food rather than a restaurant business. “Immediate response” may also sound too demanding in a polite application. Choose conventional employment and restaurant terms, and check word forms and spelling, such as “experience” rather than “experienced” in the phrase about your background. More precise wording would make the letter sound more professional.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, and the reader can follow the main message. Some grammatical errors remain, especially with articles, agreement, and sentence construction. For example, “on airplane” needs an article, and “your restaurants was” has a subject–verb agreement error. In “I am writing this letter to inform you my intentions,” the verb pattern is incomplete; it should be “inform you of my intentions.” The sentence beginning “where my experienced as a chef” also has an incorrect word form and an unclear grammatical connection. Review verb patterns, articles, and agreement, then proofread each sentence. These corrections would improve accuracy while preserving your attempts at varied structures.

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