Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I am writing to request a cancellation of booking of my part-time course and I am not interested in this course anymore Due to some irregularity and basic information providing this course.

The situation arose because, computer course was not much informative and unique to learn at a college and this part-time course has no value in this modern era. So I decide to cancel this course booking rather than wasting my time for this course.

Furthermore, I would like to book one fascinating part-time course known as Cybersecurity at a college if possible. Because in this course I can learn advance hacking and firewall security as this things will beneficial for my study portfolio and easily get a job with this kind of skills. Cybersecurity course is different and providing numerous number of hacking ways and I believe this is an useful part-time course for me.

I look forward to your response

Jeel Patel

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter covers all three bullet points: identifying the course, explaining the cancellation, and requesting a new course. However, the tone is problematic. The explanation for the cancellation—stating the course has 'no value in this modern era'—is overly blunt and unprofessional for a formal letter to a college administrator. While the task is addressed, the lack of appropriate register and the slightly aggressive tone detract from the overall effectiveness. The ideas are present but could be expressed with more tact and formal politeness to better suit the context of a formal request.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. There is a logical progression from the cancellation to the request for a new course. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and occasionally repetitive. For example, the frequent use of 'Due to' and 'this course' makes the flow feel a bit stilted. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the transitions between ideas could be smoother and more varied to achieve a higher level of cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and formal tone required for a professional letter. Phrases like 'basic information providing' and 'hacking ways' are awkward and imprecise. There is an attempt to use more advanced vocabulary, such as 'unforeseen circumstances' and 'portfolio', but these are sometimes used in contexts that feel slightly unnatural. To improve, focus on using more accurate collocations and ensuring that the word choice is appropriate for a formal business communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The letter contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'I am writing to request a cancellation of booking of my part-time course' (clunky phrasing), 'computer course was not much informative' (incorrect adjective usage), and 'as this things will beneficial' (subject-verb agreement and missing verb). While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. More attention to articles, verb forms, and sentence construction is needed.

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

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