Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-01

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 Manager,

I hope this letter finds you in well being. I am writing this letter to request a temporary work transfer to the head office in Italy for 6 months. My mother is unwell due to which i need to attend to her care, as i am her only son it is my duty to be near her in times of need.

While being away i will be able to attend all my meetings online and get the work done on laptop the same way i do here. All the work will be done within the deadline and on time.

I am mentally unable to work without knowing thr well being of my mother so it is my dire need to attend to my mother.

It is my uttermost request that kindly make some arrngement for my 6 months transfer to head office in Italy.

Thankyou in anticiption,

Regards,

Zahir.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by explaining the desire to work in the Italy head office, describing how work will be handled remotely, and asking for assistance with the transfer. However, the development of these points is somewhat limited and repetitive. For example, the reason for wanting the transfer mentions your mother's health and your role as her son, but the explanation regarding how work will be done while away is basic, simply stating you will attend meetings online and use a laptop. The tone is appropriate for a formal workplace request, but the ideas require further extension and clearer support to move beyond a partially developed response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic organization to the letter, starting with a polite opening and moving through the reasons and requests in separate sentences. However, there is no clear overall progression, and paragraphing is underdeveloped, with the body of the letter clustered into a single dense block before the closing. Cohesive devices are minimal, repetitive, or slightly mechanical, such as relying heavily on simple conjunctions and repetitive phrases like 'attend to my mother' and 'work will be done'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, which impacts the flow and makes the overall logical structure feel disjointed rather than smoothly progressive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for a basic workplace request, covering everyday terms related to employment and personal circumstances. However, the range is limited and features noticeable spelling and word choice errors that cause some difficulty, such as 'well being' written as two words, 'thr' instead of 'the', and 'arrngement' instead of 'arrangement'. There is also awkward phrasing like 'in well being' in the opening and 'Thankyou in anticiption' at the close. While meaning is generally conveyed, these inaccuracies prevent the writing from achieving a more flexible or precise range of vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response features a limited range of sentence structures, relying primarily on simple sentences and basic compound forms. Attempts at slightly more complex structures often contain errors, such as missing articles ('on laptop', 'in times of need') and punctuation mistakes, including a comma splice in the sentence 'My mother is unwell due to which i need to attend to her care, as i am her only son it is my duty to be near her in times of need.' Frequent errors in capitalization (such as lower-case 'i') and prepositions persist throughout the text, creating noticeable difficulties for the reader.

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