Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-01

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 5.5)

Dear sir/ ma,

I am writing this letter to inform the college administrator that I would like to revoke my engagement in the part-time course I newly booked for.

I have booked for an accounting course. I have to let you know this for easy processing.

One of the reasons why I decided to abolish my booking is that my is very sick and would need huge of money to pay for her treatment.

I want to know if there are other less available different booking because I was told accounting is an expensive course which will be difficult for me afford now due to my mum huge hospital bills.

Awaitng you

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points: identifying the course, explaining the reason for cancellation, and inquiring about alternatives. However, the response is significantly under the 150-word minimum, which limits the development of your ideas. The explanation regarding your mother's health is brief and lacks necessary detail to fully support your request. To improve, you should expand on your situation and provide more context for your inquiry about alternative courses. Because the length requirement was not met, the task achievement score is negatively impacted, as the response fails to provide a fully developed letter.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into short paragraphs, which is appropriate for a formal letter. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat disjointed due to the brevity of the sentences. There is a lack of cohesive devices (such as 'furthermore', 'consequently', or 'in light of this') to link your sentences together smoothly. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'my is very sick', where the subject is missing. To improve, focus on using transition words to connect your thoughts and ensure that each paragraph has a clear, unified purpose.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally understandable but lacks the precision required for a higher band. Phrases like 'revoke my engagement' and 'abolish my booking' are unnatural in this context; 'cancel my enrollment' or 'withdraw from the course' would be more appropriate. There are also errors in word choice, such as 'less available different booking', which is confusing. You rely on basic vocabulary and struggle with collocations. To improve, focus on learning formal phrases used in business correspondence and ensure you are using words in their correct context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The letter contains several grammatical errors that occasionally impede communication. For example, 'my is very sick' is missing a noun, and 'huge of money' is grammatically incorrect. There are also issues with sentence structure and missing words, such as 'difficult for me afford'. You rely mostly on simple sentence structures, and the lack of complex sentences limits your range. To improve, practice subject-verb agreement and ensure you include all necessary articles and prepositions. Proofreading for missing words like 'to' in 'difficult for me to afford' is essential.

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