Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 hope you are doing well upong receiving my letter.

I have seen your post in the advertisement that you are currently looking for someone to stay with you and look for your 6-months old child. I am writing to inform you that I am interested with the job posted. I am quite fond of babies and I'm currently looking for a job now.

I believe that I am a good candidate for the position because of my good previous experience with handling babies and toodlers. I worked as a babysitter for 2 years in my previous employer and finished my contract. You can also rely on me with household chores and I can guarantee that not only taking care of your child, but also I can teach them and prepare for a healthy meal.

If you will hire me, I will use my free time to visit well-known places in Australia since it's really my dream place to stay and looking forward to enrol short course that will help me improve my skills.

Hoping for your kind and positive feedback.

Yours Truly,

Jessica Cabrera

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address all three points: you explain your interest in the role, mention two years of babysitting and household help, and describe plans to visit places and take a course. These details make the letter relevant, but some points are only briefly developed. For example, “I am quite fond of babies” gives a reason for applying, but you could explain what you enjoy about caring for children. Your suitability would be more convincing with a specific example of your responsibilities or how you would support a six-year-old. The free-time plan is also clear but could be more specific. The opening and closing are appropriate, though the greeting should follow the requested “Dear Sir or Madam,” exactly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: you introduce your interest, explain your experience, and then describe your plans in Australia. Paragraphing helps the reader follow these main points, and phrases such as “I believe that” and “If you will hire me” signal the purpose of each section. Some connections are less smooth, however. The first paragraph combines the advertisement, your interest, and your general fondness for babies without developing a clear progression between them. The long sentence beginning “You can also rely on me” joins several responsibilities in a confusing way. Separate these ideas and use clearer links to show how your experience makes you suitable.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “babysitter,” “household chores,” “well-known places,” and “short course.” However, several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, which limits precision: “look for your child” does not express childcare, “interested with the job” is not the usual phrase, and “my dream place to stay” is unclear. There are also spelling errors such as “upong” and “toodlers.” Aim for more precise expressions suited to a formal application, such as “care for your child,” “interested in the position,” and “a long-standing ambition to visit Australia.” Proofreading would help make your meaning consistently clear.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including the conditional “If you will hire me” and the clause “because of my good previous experience.” The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. For example, “your 6-months old child” has an incorrect plural form, while “not only taking care of your child, but also I can teach them” is not a balanced sentence structure. In “looking forward to enrol,” the verb pattern is incomplete, and “I worked as a babysitter for 2 years in my previous employer” has an incorrect preposition. Practise parallel structures and verb patterns, and check articles, agreement, and prepositions when revising.

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

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