Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-25

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 or madam,

My name is xyz and I have been working in your company for last 10 years as an operation manager. Two days ago I got an Emil from our main branch which is situated in USA. They invited me to join their next project as a trainee. Many international workers will also come to join this project. The projects main concern is about customer satisfaction. The project will takes about 6 months and I will have to stay there for attend this training.

I think is a great opportunity for me to working as a trainee with internationally well known persons. It will also help me to guide our team members in future. If I will complete this project I will also get an certificate and this will help me in my future career. It will also improve my communication skills that is very important in our job sector.

lastly when I will not here I can attend all the meetings by online.

Hoping for a prompt consideration of this urgent request.

yours faithfully

xyz

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: explaining the reason for the request, proposing a solution for your current workload, and asking for assistance. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation of how your work will be covered is vague ('I can attend all the meetings by online'), which lacks the professional detail expected in a formal business letter. To improve, ensure you provide more specific, actionable details regarding your responsibilities and how they will be managed during your absence to better persuade your manager.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your points. However, the logical flow is occasionally hindered by abrupt transitions and a lack of cohesive devices. For example, the jump between discussing the project and mentioning your absence is quite sudden. Using linking words such as 'furthermore', 'consequently', or 'in terms of my current responsibilities' would help connect your ideas more smoothly. Additionally, the paragraphing is somewhat inconsistent, as the second paragraph is quite long and covers multiple distinct ideas that could be better separated for clarity.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it is somewhat repetitive and lacks the professional tone required for a formal letter to a manager. Phrases like 'get an Emil' (email) and 'working as a trainee' are functional but basic. There are also some errors in word choice, such as 'job sector' instead of 'professional field' or 'department'. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise business terminology and ensure that your spelling is accurate, as errors like 'Emil' and 'an certificate' detract from the professional quality of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally impede the flow of reading. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('The project will takes'), incorrect verb forms ('I think is a great opportunity', 'I will have to stay there for attend'), and missing articles or prepositions. While you attempt some complex structures, they are often marred by these errors. To improve, focus on basic sentence construction, specifically ensuring that verbs are correctly conjugated and that prepositions are used appropriately. Proofreading for these common slips would significantly improve the accuracy of your writing.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.