Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-06

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 Mr. Johnson,

I am expressing my thoughts on regarding the short-term course that I booked earlier want to cancel due to some reason in this letter. Therefore, please analyse thoroughly with adding some extra effects on it.

The course which I purposefully taken was about historical monuments, especially, on 23rd of July and Monday it was. Additionally, while considering the waiting period for applying to this particular course was unforgettable.

But unfortunately, the conference meeting from my firm has decided to organise and may be that will clash to the starting day of the course. As a result, it will deliberately get affected towards that part without any efforts.

Undoubtedly, I do consider some other field such as scientifical study of history which has the similar material and interests. So, please it is my humble request to you to transfer me from that one to the new one. However, I am not asking for the refund.

I hope you understand my ideas with delivering factual side of it.

Yours faithfully,

Dhaval Thakkar

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The letter covers all three bullet points: identifying the course, explaining the cancellation, and requesting a transfer. However, the tone is inconsistent and often confusing. Phrases like 'please analyse thoroughly with adding some extra effects on it' and 'I hope you understand my ideas with delivering factual side of it' are unnatural and do not fit the formal context of a request to a college administrator. While the purpose is clear, the lack of appropriate register and the inclusion of irrelevant, confusing filler sentences detract from the overall effectiveness of the communication.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organised into paragraphs, which is a positive feature. However, the logical progression is frequently interrupted by awkward phrasing and non-sequiturs. For example, the second paragraph mentions the 'unforgettable' waiting period, which is irrelevant to the task. Cohesive devices are used, but they are often misused or placed in contexts where they do not make sense, such as 'Therefore, please analyse thoroughly' or 'As a result, it will deliberately get affected'. These errors make the flow of ideas feel mechanical and sometimes difficult to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is limited and often used incorrectly. There are several instances of word-choice errors that impede clarity, such as 'purposefully taken' instead of 'enrolled in', 'scientifical study' instead of 'scientific study', and 'deliberately get affected'. The student attempts to use more formal language, but the lack of awareness regarding collocation and style results in sentences that sound unnatural or nonsensical. The range is sufficient to convey the basic message, but precision is lacking throughout the letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The letter contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors, including issues with prepositions ('on regarding'), verb tense usage ('has decided to organise'), and sentence construction ('the conference meeting... has decided to organise and may be that will clash'). While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic sentence structure and word order prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the overall control of grammar is weak.

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

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