Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-03

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 5.5)

Dear Sayal,

I am writing you this letter to inform that recently I seen an advertisement in an Australian magazine that you need a person who can look after you child during your absence.As you mentioned that you are a working person even you have no time to take care of your child due to office work.

I really want to do that job because I like children and I have 10 years of experience as a care taker.I think that I would be a suitable person for this job.I know that your child is only 6 years old but you do not worry about that because I worked in a child care centre for 10 years even I have perfect knowledge about how to play with small children and how to take care of them.

I would like to spend my free time to play with your child and I would like to go out side with your child to feel fresh over the day.

I am egarly waiting for you prompt response.

Your faithfully,

Tina shah.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all three bullet points required by the prompt. You explain why you want the job, detail your experience, and describe how you would spend your free time. However, the development of these points is somewhat basic. For instance, the explanation of how you would spend your free time is quite limited and repetitive. To reach a higher band, you should provide more specific details about your interests or how you would engage with the local culture in Australia, rather than simply stating you would play with the child. The tone is generally appropriate for a letter of application, though the opening salutation does not match the instruction provided.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite mechanical and limited. You rely heavily on simple sentence structures and lack a variety of linking words to connect your ideas more fluidly. For example, the transition between your experience and your suitability could be improved with better signposting. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, and the overall flow feels somewhat disjointed due to the repetitive nature of the sentence beginnings. Improving the use of transition words like 'furthermore', 'consequently', or 'in addition' would enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for a higher band. You use basic terms like 'look after' and 'good knowledge', which are functional but not sophisticated. There are also some minor errors in word choice, such as 'egarly' (spelling) and 'you prompt response' (grammar/collocation). To improve, try to incorporate more specific vocabulary related to childcare and professional settings. The range is sufficient to communicate your message clearly, but it does not demonstrate the flexibility or the use of less common lexical items that would characterize a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

There is a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but the accuracy is inconsistent. You have several grammatical errors, such as 'I seen an advertisement' (should be 'I saw'), 'you child' (should be 'your child'), and 'Your faithfully' (should be 'Yours faithfully'). Additionally, there are issues with verb tense consistency and missing articles. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to be noticeable. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and proofreading for basic grammatical slips. Increasing the variety of complex sentence structures while ensuring they are error-free will also help improve your score in this criterion.

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

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