Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-15
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 to express my interest for the job advertisement you given in the Australian magazine.
My name is pranusha and I am currently pursuing Master's in Accounting from York university. At present, I am on a semester break for six months and I am looking for a full time job to pay my next semester tuition fee.
I have two kids, elder one is seven years old and the younger one is five years old. At present there are with my husband in my home country. When they born, I had no support from family so everything is handled by me and my husband. So I believe I had a considerable experience in handling the kids.
During my free time, I have friends in Australia so I will spend with them and i have a security lisence so I can work with them on demand. I would appreciate it if you could give me an oppurtunity to work at your home.
Please let me know if you need any further information, I will send you.
Best regards,
Pranusha
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You address the main points by explaining that you want the job to fund your tuition, describing your experience raising two children, and mentioning plans to spend time with friends in Australia. These details are relevant, but some parts are only briefly developed: for example, you do not explain what you would enjoy about caring for this particular child, and your suitability is based mainly on being a parent rather than specific childcare skills or examples. The free-time point is also unclear because “I can work with them on demand” does not explain how this relates to your leisure plans. Develop each point more fully and make your reasons and plans explicit.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The letter has a recognisable structure, with an opening, background information, childcare experience, and a closing. Paragraphing helps separate these topics, and the reader can generally follow the sequence. However, progression is uneven: the paragraph about your friends shifts suddenly to security work, which interrupts the explanation of your free-time plans. Some links between ideas are also unclear, particularly “so everything is handled by me and my husband” and the following claim about experience. Use clearer transitions and keep each paragraph focused on one purpose—for example, put your childcare qualifications and experience together, then explain your plans outside work separately.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the basic message, with relevant expressions such as “semester break,” “full time job,” and “considerable experience.” However, the range is limited, and several noticeable word-choice, spelling, or collocation errors make the letter less natural. Examples include “interest for the job,” “the job advertisement you given,” “security lisence,” and “oppurtunity.” These do not prevent the reader from understanding your main points, but they reduce precision and polish. Learn common formal-letter phrases and check spelling carefully; more precise childcare vocabulary, such as “supervise,” “care for,” or “keep a child engaged,” would also help you describe your suitability.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You communicate using mostly simple sentence patterns and make some attempts to connect clauses, as in “When they born, I had no support from family so everything is handled by me and my husband.” However, errors in verb forms, tense, agreement, and articles occur frequently and can make parts of the message difficult to process. For example, “you given” needs a correctly formed verb, “When they born” needs a passive construction, and “At present there are with my husband” has an incorrect verb pattern. The final sentence also joins two independent ideas with a comma. Practise accurate past and present forms, and use shorter sentences when you are unsure of a complex structure.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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