Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

Dear Sir,

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with a recent purchase from your online store and would like to request a replacement.

To begin with, I recently purchased a Zara suit through your website. Unfortunately, after receiving the package, I found that it was defective around the shoulder area.

One of the main issues with the suit was the stitching, it had come apart on both sides and around the collar. Although I was informed by the staff that a tie would be included, i could not find it.

Since I brought it specifically for my upcoming graduation, I cannot wear it on that special day. Consequently, I am in urgent need of a replacement of the suit.

I would appreciate it if you could send a replacement as soon as possible so that I can wear it for my graduation ceremony.

Yours faithfully,

Om Pethani

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 2.0

The response is completely off-topic. The task required writing a letter to a college administrator to cancel a part-time course booking and inquire about a different one. Instead, the student wrote a letter of complaint to an online store regarding a defective suit. Because the student failed to address any of the bullet points or the core purpose of the prompt, the task achievement is severely compromised. Additionally, the response is 148 words, failing the 150-word minimum requirement. This combination of being off-topic and under-length results in a very low score for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

Despite being off-topic, the letter is logically organized. It follows a standard formal letter structure with clear paragraphing, an appropriate opening, and a closing. The use of cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Although', and 'Consequently' helps the flow of ideas. However, because the content does not match the prompt, the overall coherence is undermined by the lack of relevance to the task instructions. The paragraphing is sufficient, but the logical progression serves an irrelevant purpose.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is generally appropriate for a formal letter of complaint. The student uses terms like 'dissatisfaction', 'defective', 'urgent need', and 'ceremony' correctly. While the range is not particularly wide or sophisticated, it is adequate for the purpose of writing a formal letter. There are no significant spelling errors, and the word choice is clear and communicative, even though the subject matter is entirely incorrect for the given task.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical errors, such as the comma splice in 'the stitching, it had come apart' and the failure to capitalize the pronoun 'i'. However, these errors do not impede communication. The student shows a reasonable grasp of formal sentence construction. The range of structures is limited but functional, and the errors are not frequent enough to cause significant difficulty for the reader.

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

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