Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-04

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 Madam,

I am writing to apply for the job that has been published in the magazine. You wanted someone who lives with you and take care of your six years old child for six months.

I am a medical student and currently persuing masters in the surgery in Australian Medical University. I have to go the college once a week for five hours and then after I am free. So I would like to apply for this vacancy.

I have an enough knowledge about children as I have worked with them during my internship. I know how to care and play with them . I have enough knowledge about children in medical way also which might be beneficial if anything bad happens. In addition to this I can help your baby in terms of study or any social activity.

As of now, I am teaching the underprivileged children in my free time. I play with them as well as helping them economically.

I look forward to hearing from you soon. Please let me know if you need more information.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Kruti Patel

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You explain your motivation, highlight your medical background as a key qualification, and mention your current activities with children. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For example, the third bullet point regarding how you would spend your free time in Australia is not explicitly addressed; you mention teaching underprivileged children, but it is unclear if this is your plan for your free time while living with the family or a description of your current activities. To reach a higher band, ensure each requirement is answered with specific, future-oriented details relevant to the context of the job.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical progression, starting with the purpose of the letter, moving to qualifications, and concluding with a call to action. Paragraphing is used, though the paragraphs are somewhat short and could be better connected. Cohesive devices are present but occasionally mechanical, such as the repetitive use of 'I have' at the start of sentences. The transition between the introduction and the body paragraphs is clear, but the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words to connect your ideas more fluidly rather than relying on simple sentence structures.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You use basic terms like 'job', 'care', and 'play'. While you attempt some topic-specific vocabulary related to your medical studies, there are some awkward collocations, such as 'medical way' and 'helping them economically'. To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary related to childcare and professional experience. For instance, instead of 'I have an enough knowledge', use 'I possess extensive experience'. The spelling is generally accurate, but the word choice is often functional rather than expressive.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'persuing masters in the surgery' (should be 'pursuing a master's degree in surgery') and 'six years old child' (should be 'six-year-old child'). Additionally, there are minor issues with articles and prepositions, such as 'go the college' instead of 'go to college'. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher band score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct article usage will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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