Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-14

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You work for an international company, and would like to spend six months working in its head office in another country. Write a letter to your manager. In your letter

• explain why you want to work in the company's head office for six months
• say how your work could be done while you are away
• ask for his/her help in arranging it

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ................. ,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Sir,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing this letter to request you that i would like to work in the main branch of our organisation for half of the year.

My name is yogita gandhi, i work for marketing department. As you know i am new to this organisation, i need exact information of our product lines, strategies we are using for advertisements, monthly targets and our customer base, which i assume i will get only if i will work from our head office.

Further, i want to assure you i will do overtime to complete my daily task which i have to do in this particular department. Also, my colleague Nandita will update me about latest meetings and deadlines which needs to be done on specific time.

It would be very helpful if you will request senior management to transfer me to the head office for 6 months.

Your faithfully,

Yogita.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly explained the motivation for the transfer, proposed a plan for your current workload, and requested assistance from your manager. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat basic. For instance, the explanation of how your work will be covered is quite brief and relies on a colleague, which could be expanded to show more professional responsibility. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter, though the opening and closing salutations need adjustment to match the professional context.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter follows a logical structure, with each paragraph addressing a specific requirement of the task. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Further' and 'Also' to connect your ideas. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the paragraphing could be improved by ensuring each point is fully developed before moving to the next. The referencing is generally clear, but the overall progression of the letter would benefit from more sophisticated linking words to improve the flow of your argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, such as 'organisation', 'strategies', and 'advertisements'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'request you that i would like to' (should be 'request that I be allowed to') and 'exact information' (should be 'detailed information'). The vocabulary is functional but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band score. You should aim to use more professional collocations to enhance the formal tone of your request.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation. Examples include capitalization errors ('i', 'yogita gandhi'), subject-verb agreement issues ('deadlines which needs to be done'), and awkward phrasing ('request you that i would like to'). While these errors do not impede communication, they are persistent throughout the text. To improve, focus on consistent capitalization, correct verb forms, and ensuring that complex sentences are constructed with grammatical accuracy.

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

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