Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-26

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 professor, I am writing this mail regarding my part time course that i had booked.

In short period period of time our college opened PSW course I had lot of interest in that course and i want to continue this.but, this course tution fees are far high that i cannot afford because i don't have much paid job and i am part time as well. I found another course which is similar to PSW course and that course name is SSW. This course fees is tooo low as compared to PSW which is affordable for me.Moreover, there are more job opportunities in my future SSW course. I wanted to cancel booking of part time PSW course and give me offer letter of SSW part time course.

I kindly request you for issuing my offer letter for SSW part time course so that i can start my education as soon as possible.

Thank you

Your sincerely

Harmandeep singh Gill

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: identifying the course, explaining the reason for cancellation, and requesting a different course. However, the tone is inconsistent with a formal letter to a college administrator. The opening 'Dear professor' is inappropriate for an administrator, and the request to 'give me offer letter' is somewhat blunt. To improve, ensure the tone remains professional throughout and provide a clearer explanation of the financial constraints. While the task requirements are met, the development of ideas is slightly limited by the informal register and some awkward phrasing.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter follows a logical sequence, moving from the cancellation to the request for a new course. However, the paragraphing is poor; the entire body of the letter is presented as one block, which makes it difficult to read. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Moreover' and 'but', but they are sometimes used incorrectly or with awkward punctuation. The transition between the cancellation of the PSW course and the request for the SSW course could be smoother. Improving the use of paragraph breaks and refining the use of linking words would significantly enhance the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it is quite repetitive and lacks the precision expected at higher bands. For example, you use 'course' repeatedly and rely on simple descriptors like 'far high' and 'tooo low'. There are also issues with word choice, such as 'mail' instead of 'letter' and 'give me offer letter' instead of 'issue an offer letter'. To reach a higher band, you should aim for more varied and formal vocabulary, such as 'financial constraints', 'alternative', or 'enrollment'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing articles ('the' PSW course), incorrect verb forms ('our college opened'), and punctuation errors (missing spaces after periods, lowercase 'i'). The sentence structures are mostly simple, and the attempt at complex sentences often results in errors, such as 'this course tution fees are far high that i cannot afford'. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar and punctuation prevents a higher score. Focus on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and proper capitalization.

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

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