Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-07

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 hope this letter finds you well.

My name is Kritika, and I am writing this letter to cancel my booking for M.B.A course in your college. I made this booking a few days ago and now I want to cancel it.

The reason for cancelling this part-time course is financial burden. Recently, I lost my job and now I do not have anything to survive. I only left with my savings; which I did while working. It is hard for me to add on additional financial burden, which I cannot afford it now.

This course is very expensive for middle class people. Thus, I will choose another course, which is under my budget as well as I could learn more about business. I would be grateful if you could change my booking to another temporary course, named Bio-tech.

I hope to hear from you soon,

Yours faithfully,

Kritika Sharma

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 (M.B.A), provided a logical reason for the cancellation (financial difficulties), and inquired about an alternative course (Bio-tech). The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a college administrator. The ideas are relevant and the purpose of the letter is clear from the beginning. To reach a higher band, you could expand slightly on the transition between the cancellation and the request for the new course to ensure the flow feels more natural and professional.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body, and closing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Thus' and 'In addition' (though 'In addition' was implied rather than explicitly used). However, some transitions are a bit mechanical, and the connection between sentences could be smoother. For example, the sentence 'I only left with my savings; which I did while working' is slightly disjointed. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring that referencing is precise will help improve the overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task. You use appropriate terms like 'financial burden' and 'booking'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and phrasing, such as 'I only left with my savings' (should be 'I am left with') and 'middle class people' (which is slightly informal for this context). Additionally, the phrase 'add on additional financial burden' is redundant. Expanding your vocabulary to include more precise collocations and avoiding repetitive phrasing would elevate your score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. For instance, 'I cannot afford it now' is grammatically redundant because of the preceding 'cannot'. There are also issues with article usage and verb tense consistency, such as 'I only left with my savings' and 'which I did while working'. Punctuation is generally functional, but the semicolon usage in the second paragraph is incorrect. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and avoiding redundant structures will improve your accuracy.

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

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