Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-07-30

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 7.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to kindly request cancellation of my course that I booked recently due to some unforeseen circumstances. I have keen interest in learning science, due to which I booked 6 months course in your college.

However, I just learned that the company I work for, is planning to promoting myself to other department in another city after 3 months. Certainly, I would not be able to complete this full term course.

I was wondering if I could book a different 2 or 3 months of course in your college and my fees could be transfer. Please let me know what my options are. I am willing to pay any extra fees if the course is expensive or would be grateful if I get refund if it is cheaper. Or, please let me know if there is a formal criteria that I need to follow to make this change.

Yours faithfully,

Harman

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly identified the course, provided a logical reason for the cancellation (work relocation), and inquired about alternative options. 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. To reach a higher band, ensure that all details are fully integrated; for example, specifying the name of the course would have added a touch more realism to the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The letter follows a logical progression, moving from the purpose of the writing to the explanation and finally the request for alternatives. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate these distinct ideas. You use some cohesive devices such as 'However' and 'Certainly' to link your thoughts. To improve, ensure that transitions between sentences are smoother; for instance, the connection between the second and third paragraphs could be strengthened by using a more explicit linking phrase to transition from the problem to the proposed solution.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'unforeseen circumstances' and 'keen interest' appropriately. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'transfer' instead of 'transferred' and 'formal criteria' (which should be 'formal procedure' or 'process'). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, incorporating a slightly wider range of collocations related to administrative processes would help elevate the score. Overall, the language is natural and fits the formal context well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'my fees could be transfer' (should be 'transferred') and '2 or 3 months of course' (should be 'a 2 or 3-month course'). Additionally, 'planning to promoting' is incorrect; it should be 'planning to promote me'. Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout the letter, and the mistakes do not impede communication. Focusing on verb forms and noun phrase construction will help improve your accuracy.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.