Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-20

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,

I hope you are doing well.

I am reaching out to request cancellation of a part-time course I booked last week at your collage.

The course I enrolled was, "Basics of Cyber Security". The completion of this course was a mandatory requirement at my new job. I need to cancel this enrolment since my HR informed me to complete the "Advance Cyber Security Course" instead. As I need to complete this mandatory course completion requirement. I urge you to take my request into consideration.

Furthermore, I would appreciate your guidance in helping me book for "Advance Cyber Security" course. I have been struggling in finding the right method to cancel and rebook for another course from the college website.

I look forward to your guidance and prompt response.

Best Regards,

XYZ

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points: identifying the course, explaining the reason for cancellation, and requesting information about a new course. However, the response is 15 words under the 150-word minimum requirement. This significantly impacts the task achievement score, as the ideas are not fully developed to meet the length constraint. While the tone is appropriate for a formal letter, the brevity prevents a more thorough explanation or a more professional closing, which is expected in a formal request of this nature.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the transition 'Furthermore' is used correctly, but the overall flow feels a bit mechanical. The referencing is generally clear, but the structure could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words to connect the sentences more fluidly, which would elevate the coherence of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, but it lacks the range and precision expected at higher bands. There are some spelling errors, such as 'collage' instead of 'college', and minor collocation issues like 'struggling in finding' instead of 'struggling to find'. The phrasing is functional but basic. To achieve a higher score, you should aim to use more sophisticated vocabulary related to administrative requests, such as 'enrolment', 'prerequisite', or 'administrative procedure', rather than relying on simple, repetitive language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The letter contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'The course I enrolled was' (missing 'in') and 'my HR informed me to complete' (which is slightly unnatural). Additionally, there is a sentence fragment: 'As I need to complete this mandatory course completion requirement.' This is a dependent clause that should be attached to the previous sentence. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they demonstrate a lack of consistent control over complex structures.

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

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