Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-16

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 5.0)

Dear Sir,

I am writing this letter to live with a family for six months and look after their six-year-old child. I saw an advertisement in an Australian magazine in a cafe.

I like this job because I have a previous experience and love to this job and also I used to took care of my younger brother when he was a child, and I feel connected with children due to this reason, I want to do this job.

Last month I have completed my study and right now I am full-time available. My course was related to child care, which I was doing for four years. I have crucial knowledge related to kids health and how to communicate with them.

I heard that Australia is really beautiful place. In my free time I would like to explore mountains because I love to do camping as well as shopping.

Finally let me know what you think.

Yours Faithfully,

Sarbjit Kaur.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The candidate has addressed all parts of the task. The letter opens with an explanation of wanting the job, touches on suitability through past childcare experience and a relevant course, and mentions free time plans involving camping, shopping, and exploring mountains. However, some points are slightly repetitive or under-developed, such as the initial opening statement claiming 'to live with a family', which slightly misunderstands the phrasing of the advertisement prompt. Despite these minor lapses in task focus and development, the bullet points required by the prompt are generally covered, presenting a clear purpose for writing. The tone is somewhat informal and at times awkward in its directness, but it remains appropriate for a general correspondence.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter is divided into several short paragraphs, which helps establish a basic structure and flow. However, the logical progression between sentences is occasionally hindered by abrupt transitions and run-on sentences, such as 'I like this job because I have a previous experience and love to this job and also I used to took care...'. Cohesive devices are used minimally and somewhat repetitively, relying heavily on conjunctions like 'and' or 'because' rather than a varied range of cohesive links. Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of ideas lacks smooth connectivity, resulting in a somewhat disjointed reading experience. Referencing is generally clear, though paragraph boundaries could be better utilised to separate distinct topics.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, frequently relying on simple words such as 'job', 'child', and 'love'. There are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'have a previous experience', 'love to this job', and 'crucial knowledge related to kids health', which reflect a limited lexical range. While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the basic message and communicate the candidate's background and intentions, it lacks flexibility and precision. Spelling is generally accurate, but the restricted choice of words prevents the response from achieving a higher band in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response features a mix of simple and somewhat complex sentence forms, but attempts at complexity often result in grammatical errors. Examples include 'I used to took care' (tense/verb form error) and 'Last month I have completed my study' (tense inconsistency). There are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly regarding run-on sentences linked with multiple conjunctions and missing commas. Although these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur regularly enough to cause difficulty and show a lack of firm control over complex structures.

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

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