Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-05

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 or Madam,

I am writing this email to inquire about the job opportunity which I saw in Australian magazine to live with a family for six months and look after your six year old child.

I had baby sit many kids in my hometown when I was in my college and that is why I liked this job opportunity. Personally I like kids and old people and look after both of them very nicely and calmly.

I have genuine experience of two years in baby sitting and I have lot of essential knowledge such as how to play with kids, how to teach them life lessons by giving practical examples, and I know brain train activities which boosts the metabolism of a child.

I'm fond of reading and writing I spent most of my spare time by doing all these activities. If you provide me this job, I will read and write my bed time kids stories and poems for your six years old.

I hope to hear back from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Amrinder Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response covers all three bullet points from the prompt, although the content is somewhat limited and minimally developed. You explained why you would like the job by mentioning that you like kids, gave details of your suitability through your baby-sitting experience, and outlined how you would spend your free time by reading and writing bedtime stories. However, the ideas lack full extension and depth. Furthermore, 11 words were copied directly from the task prompt, which does not contribute original content to your word count. To reach a higher level, you should expand on each point with more specific details, such as elaborating on particular activities you enjoy or how you plan to integrate into Australian culture during your free time.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic logical organisation to the letter, with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing the prompt requirements, and an appropriate closing. Paragraphing is attempted, grouping related ideas together such as experience and free-time plans. However, the overall progression is limited, and cohesive devices are repetitive or inadequately used. For example, transitions between paragraphs are abrupt, relying heavily on simple sentence openings without smooth linking phrases. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the pronoun use in the second paragraph. To improve Coherence and Cohesion, you should use a wider variety of cohesive devices logically and ensure each paragraph has a clear thematic progression that connects naturally to the next.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, covering basic everyday and job-related topics such as 'job opportunity', 'baby sitting', and 'spare time'. You make attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'metabolism' and 'practical examples', though these are sometimes used inaccurately in context, such as claiming brain training boosts a child's metabolism. There are also noticeable word-choice and word-formation errors, such as writing 'baby sit' instead of 'babysit' and 'bed time' instead of 'bedtime'. These errors do not completely impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score. To achieve a higher band, you should incorporate a more precise and natural range of vocabulary with accurate word forms and collocations suited to a formal letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response features a limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences alongside a few basic attempts at complex forms. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, particularly with verb forms, tenses, prepositions, and articles. For instance, you wrote 'I had baby sit many kids' instead of the correct past tense 'I used to babysit many kids' or 'I babysat', and used incorrect prepositions in phrases like 'look after both of them very nicely'. Punctuation errors are also present, such as missing commas in compound structures. These frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader. To improve, you need to demonstrate greater control over complex sentence patterns and improve your accuracy with verb tenses and grammatical agreements.

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

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