Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-05

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 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to inform you that I recently enrolled in a part-time course at your college. Unfortunately, I would like to withdraw my application from the course.

Last month, I decided to pursue the 3-month "Business Management" certification from your institute. Outline of the course was promising to help individuals to grow in their career. I had the same vision to get promotion in my company by gaining some extra valuable skills.

I am afraid to say that I need to cancel this booking because I have decided to move to France in the next 2-months. Therefore, this course would not suitable for me to guide me in my early days in a different country.

With regard to this, would it be possible if I can enrolled in a B1-B2 level of french language. This would help me to learn basic communication of a different language, and also helpful to me to communicate with locals in France.

I am looking forward to your prompt response.

Yours sincerely,

John

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly identified the course you booked, provided a logical reason for the cancellation (moving to France), and made a clear inquiry regarding an alternative course. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to an administrator. The ideas are well-developed and relevant to the task requirements. To reach a higher band, ensure that your opening and closing statements are perfectly aligned with the formal register required for this type of correspondence.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized, with each paragraph focusing on a specific requirement of the task. You use paragraphing effectively to separate the introduction, the explanation, the request, and the conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'Unfortunately', 'Therefore', and 'With regard to this' are used to guide the reader through your points. While the flow is generally smooth, some transitions could be more sophisticated to improve the overall cohesion of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'withdraw my application', 'certification', and 'prompt response'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'would not suitable' (should be 'would not be suitable') and 'enrolled in a B1-B2 level' (should be 'enroll in a B1-B2 level course'). Expanding your range of formal vocabulary and ensuring correct grammatical collocations will help you achieve a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors that persist. For example, 'Outline of the course was promising' lacks an article ('The outline'), and 'if I can enrolled' is incorrect (should be 'if I can enroll'). Additionally, 'helpful to me to communicate' is slightly awkward phrasing. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of modal verbs will improve your accuracy significantly.

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

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