Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-08

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 writting to inform you that i saw your ad on a magazine for someone to live with the family to look after your six-year- old child.

I wanna say that i think i am suitable for this job as i had experince in this field because i have been working as a child care worker from last two- three years and ihave been looking for oppertunity around that area. i had great review from the families i had work with. I had thier refenences for your concern. even the kids also gets attached with me easily.

moreover, I would like to explore the city in my free time as i have been planning to visit some famous places in my free time and also i can visit a few of my friends who's living around your area in that way i would not be bothering the family in thier free time.

I look forward to hearing from you.

yours sincerely.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the main purpose of the letter and explain your childcare experience, positive feedback from families, and plans to explore the city and see friends. These details are relevant, but the reasons for wanting the job are not clearly developed: saying you have been looking for an opportunity nearby does not explain what attracts you to living with this family or caring for this child. Your suitability is supported by experience and references, although the examples remain general. The free-time point is also somewhat unclear when you say you would avoid bothering the family. Develop each point with a specific reason or example, and make the tone consistently appropriate for writing to prospective employers.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable sequence: an opening, information about your suitability, plans for free time, and a closing. Paragraphing helps separate the main topics, and connectors such as “moreover” signal a shift. However, the first body paragraph contains several ideas joined together with limited punctuation, so the reader has to work to follow the progression from experience to references and the children’s response. The free-time sentence also combines visiting places, seeing friends, and not bothering the family without clearly showing how these ideas relate. Use shorter, clearly focused sentences and make links between ideas more precise. The closing is present, but its punctuation and sign-off format should be tidied.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough relevant vocabulary to communicate the basic message, including “child care worker,” “references,” “families,” and “famous places.” However, the range is limited, and several informal or inaccurate choices are not well suited to a letter applying for a job. For example, “wanna” is conversational, while “ad on a magazine” and “great review” are awkward combinations in this context. Spelling errors such as “writting,” “experince,” and “oppertunity” are noticeable and can distract the reader. Aim for more precise employment and childcare vocabulary, and proofread spelling and word forms. A more formal register would make your application sound more convincing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to connect ideas in longer sentences, for example when describing your experience and plans, but the range of sentence structures is limited and these longer constructions are often difficult to control. Errors include “i saw” and “i am” without capitalisation, “i have been working … from last two-three years,” and “the kids also gets attached,” where tense, preposition, and subject–verb agreement need attention. The sentence beginning “I had great review” also has an article and tense problem. These errors sometimes make the relationships between ideas less clear, although the overall message can still be understood. Practise accurate past and present-perfect forms, agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries before adding more complex structures.

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