Band 8.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 8.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-07-26

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You recently booked a part-time course at a college. You now need to cancel your booking.

Write a letter to the college administrator. In your letter:

• say which part-time course you booked
• explain why you need to cancel your booking
• ask about booking a different course

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 8.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing an email requesting you for course cancellation, which is going to start next month, April. I took admission in a part-time course - Architectural Technologist ( Course # 17015) at Centennial College. I have paid full fees for the entire course as well.

Unfortunately, I will have to go back to India, as my study visa is going to expire soon, given that I am not allowed to stay unauthorised in the country. I have applied for a visa extension, but I don’t anticipate that I will get approval on my application soon.

To mitigate the issues, I have checked the available courses for the next intake, which would be September, and I have seen that the course – Green architecture- has just opened for students. Could you please transfer my admission to that course? I would be grateful if you could do that.

I believe these problems require immediate attention to avoid further issues. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Milan Bodar

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.5

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly identified the course, provided a logical and understandable reason for the cancellation regarding your visa status, and made a specific request to transfer to a different course. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to an administrator. The ideas are well-developed and the purpose of the letter is clear from the outset. You have maintained a consistent and professional tone throughout the response, which is essential for this type of task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph serves a distinct purpose, moving from the introduction and reason for cancellation to the request for a transfer and the closing. You have used cohesive devices such as 'Unfortunately', 'To mitigate the issues', and 'I believe' to link your ideas effectively. The paragraphing is appropriate and contributes to the overall readability of the letter. The flow is smooth, and the relationship between the cancellation and the request for a new course is well-established.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.5

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary appropriate for a formal context, such as 'mitigate', 'anticipate', and 'consideration'. There are no significant errors in word choice that impede communication. While some phrases are standard, they are used accurately. To reach a higher band, you could incorporate more precise collocations or slightly more sophisticated academic vocabulary, but the current range is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly and professionally throughout the letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

You show a good command of grammatical structures, using a mix of simple and complex sentences effectively. For example, the use of conditional structures and relative clauses is accurate. There are minor slips, such as 'requesting you for course cancellation' (which should be 'requesting a course cancellation') and 'I took admission in' (which is better phrased as 'I enrolled in'). However, these errors are infrequent and do not interfere with the reader's understanding. The majority of your sentences are error-free, showing good control over punctuation and syntax.

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