Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-08

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You have seen an advertisement in an Australian magazine for someone to live with a family for six months and look after their six-year-old child.

Write a letter to the parents. In your letter

• explain why you would like the job
• give details of why you would be a suitable person to employ
• say how you would spend your free time while you are in Australia

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing in response to an advertisement for staying and looking after a toddler for a period of six month. I would like you to consider me for this opportunity.

I have been living in Australia for the past 3 years as a student. During my stay here, I have only lived at university residence. Although I have studied so hard and performed very well in academics, I deeply feel homesick. Eventually, I am taking a break from my studies for around six months. It would be a great opportunity for me to stay with you and taking care of your child to make myself in presence of a family.

Moreover, from your family background, I have come to know that you are also immigrants from the same country where I belong to. I believe it would make a strong connection among all of us. Also, I have had a short term course of early childhood therefore I have experience with child care already.

As I am taking break from studies, I will mostly focus on my physical health and master my skills. I will be waiting for your response and please feel free to reach out if you have any queries.

With regards,

Gurpreet Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You explained your motivation for the job, highlighted your suitability through your background and childcare experience, and mentioned your plans for free time. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, while you mention a 'short term course of early childhood', you could have provided more specific examples of your experience with children to make your application more persuasive. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter, though some phrasing, such as 'make myself in presence of a family', is slightly unnatural and impacts the clarity of your intent.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each focusing on a specific requirement of the prompt. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Although', and 'Therefore' to link your ideas. However, the flow between sentences is occasionally mechanical. For example, the transition between your academic background and your desire for a family environment could be smoother. Additionally, the use of referencing is sometimes slightly awkward, such as in the sentence 'from your family background, I have come to know that you are also immigrants', which could be phrased more naturally to improve the overall cohesion of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'opportunity', 'academics', and 'immigrants'. However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and collocation errors, such as 'taking care of your child to make myself in presence of a family' and 'master my skills'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit your score. To reach a higher band, you should focus on using more natural collocations and precise terminology related to childcare and professional correspondence. Your spelling is generally accurate throughout the letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are clear, there are several grammatical inaccuracies. For example, 'for a period of six month' should be 'six months', and 'I have had a short term course of early childhood' would be better as 'I have completed a short course in early childhood education'. Additionally, 'I am taking a break' is used correctly, but 'I will be waiting for your response' is slightly repetitive. Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout, and the grammatical mistakes do not significantly hinder the reader's understanding of your message.

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

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