Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-26

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 Sir/Madam,

I am writing to you in regards with an advertisement you have published in xyz magazine requiring someone to live with your family for six months and taking care of your six-year-old child in Australia.

I would love to take this job and spend time with your family as I am traveling to Australia during the time you have mentioned in the ad. As a passionate traveler, I constantly travel around the world during my free time and to cut down travel cost, I try to find a free place for my stay and this opportunity perfectly aligns with that as well as your requirement so it's a win-win. Previously, I did a similar job during my trip to London and stayed with a family for three months while taking care of their two kids so given my experience I assure you that I am quite suitable for this. I can also provide a reference letter from the London family I have stayed with.

I am also a Youtube Vlogger, so during my free time I will be visiting various tourist locations around your city for vlogging and I can also teach your kid a bit about how to use a camera and edit videos. Also, you guys are most welcome to accompany me on these day trips.

I am eagerly looking forward to your positive response.

Kind Regards,

Waqas

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task prompt. You clearly explained why you would like the job by mentioning your travel plans to Australia, and you provided details of your suitability by citing your previous childcare experience in London, even offering to provide references. Additionally, you detailed how you would spend your free time by vlogging tourist locations and including the child if desired. The tone is appropriate for a semi-formal letter, though the greeting 'Dear Sir/Madam' conflicts slightly with the instruction to write to 'the parents' and your opening line addressing an advertisement 'requiring someone to live with your family', which implies a known recipient. However, the content fully covers the required bullet points with clear, relevant ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from your motivation for applying, to your background and suitability, and finally to your free-time plans. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct themes. Cohesive devices such as 'Previously', 'I can also', and 'so during my free time' are used to connect ideas, though some sentences are quite long and run-on, such as the lengthy second paragraph which links multiple ideas with 'and' and 'as'. Referencing is generally clear, but dividing the massive second paragraph into two would improve the flow and structural clarity of the response.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases such as 'perfectly aligns with', 'win-win', and 'passionate traveler'. However, there is some informality ('you guys', 'cut down travel cost') and minor lexical inaccuracies or awkward collocations, such as writing 'in regards with' instead of 'in regard to' or 'with regard to', and 'taking care' following 'requiring' in the opening sentence. Spelling and word choice are generally clear enough not to impede communication, but elevating the register slightly would improve the score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over grammar. You successfully use relative clauses and conditional-style reasoning (e.g., 'as I am traveling', 'to cut down travel cost, I try to find...'). However, there are notable grammatical errors and awkward punctuation, such as run-on sentences containing multiple clauses joined loosely by coordinating conjunctions (e.g., the second paragraph). Preposition errors also occur, such as 'stayed with a family for three months while taking care' where tense consistency or phrasing could be sharper. Errors rarely impede communication but prevent the attainment of a higher band.

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

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