Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-15

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/ Madam,

I hope this message finds you well.

I am writing to request a cancellation of the part- time coarse I have booked at Sheridan College in the up-coming fall semester.

The part- time coarse I have booked is Fundamentals of Psychology which is scheduled to begin in the first week of september. It is 1 year coarse with an option of working a co-op student for a well known company in Canada. The coarse covers the basic terminologies and some fundamental concepts regarding the subject.

I have reviewed the course content and found that approximately 90% of the syllabus is repetitive, as I have already covered most of these topics in previous courses. Therefore, I would like to pursue more advanced concepts in psychology to further develop my knowledge and skills in the field and become job-ready.

I would like to book a different coarse which is slightly advanced which goes in depth in the field of psychology because It would better support my learning and career goals.

Your's faithfully,

Sankalp Diwate.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly identify the course (Fundamentals of Psychology), provide a logical reason for cancellation (repetitive syllabus), and inquire about alternative, more advanced options. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to an administrator. The ideas are well-developed and relevant to the task requirements. To reach a higher band, ensure that the request for a different course is more specific, perhaps by asking for a course catalogue or a recommendation from the administrator, which would further enhance the functional purpose of the letter.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph serves a distinct purpose, moving from the purpose of the letter to the details of the course, the reason for cancellation, and finally the request for alternatives. Cohesive devices such as 'Therefore' and 'as' are used effectively to link ideas. The paragraphing is appropriate for a formal letter. To improve, ensure that the transition between the explanation of the current course and the reason for cancellation is even smoother to avoid a slightly abrupt shift in focus.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. However, there is a recurring spelling error: 'coarse' is used instead of 'course' throughout the text. While this does not impede communication, it is a noticeable error. You use some good collocations like 'career goals' and 'develop my knowledge'. To improve, try to incorporate more varied academic vocabulary, such as 'curriculum' instead of 'syllabus' or 'redundant' instead of 'repetitive', to show a higher level of lexical precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The letter contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are some grammatical inaccuracies. For example, 'working a co-op student' should be 'working as a co-op student', and 'Your's faithfully' is incorrect; it should be 'Yours faithfully'. Additionally, there are minor punctuation and capitalization errors, such as 'september' (should be 'September'). The majority of sentences are clear, but these persistent errors in basic grammar and mechanics prevent a higher score. Focus on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and standard formal letter conventions.

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

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