Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-11

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 or Madam,

I am writing this letter to bring to your notice that I booked a part time course at a college now I need to cancel. I am Ghanshyam Patel from Edmonton.

Last week ago I booked Soocer course for 2 month. This course start at 1st May to 30 June at every day in evening time for 2 hours. Before I think that course suitable for my daily routine.

But unfourtunatly yesterday my job manager told me about my job timing change. Before I work in morning time but my one collegious not coming for next one month. So I join evening shift due to manpower unavailbilty. That why I am not join soocer course.

I have free time in morning. So please suggest me any course run in morning. I have free timi for next month in morning.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Your Sincerely,

Ghanshyam Patel

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the prompt: identifying the course, explaining the reason for cancellation, and requesting information about an alternative. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter, although the development of ideas is somewhat limited by language errors. You clearly stated that you booked a 'Soocer' course and explained the change in your work schedule as the reason for cancellation. To improve, ensure that you provide slightly more detail in your explanation to fully develop the response, as some sentences are quite brief and repetitive.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical structure, with a clear opening and closing. You have used paragraphing to separate the different points of the task. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite limited and sometimes mechanical. For example, the frequent use of 'Before' to start sentences is repetitive and does not effectively link ideas. To reach a higher band, try to use a wider variety of linking words such as 'consequently', 'furthermore', or 'however' to improve the flow between sentences and paragraphs.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main points, but it is quite basic and contains several spelling errors, such as 'Soocer' (Soccer), 'unfourtunatly' (unfortunately), and 'collegious' (colleague). There are also issues with word choice, such as 'manpower unavailbilty' and 'job manager'. While the meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is limited, and the errors occasionally distract the reader. Focusing on accurate spelling and learning more precise collocations for professional contexts will help you improve your score in this area.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You rely heavily on simple sentence structures, and there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'I am writing this letter to bring to your notice that I booked a part time course at a college now I need to cancel' (run-on sentence), 'Last week ago' (redundant), and 'That why I am not join soocer course' (incorrect verb tense and structure). While these errors do not completely prevent the reader from understanding your message, they are frequent enough to impede the flow. You should focus on subject-verb agreement and correct tense usage.

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

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