Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-27

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 Madam,

I want tell you that i am Nancy student in your collage where i take as a part time course in business law now i just change my mind i want to do the PSW course instead of that beacause this course is more valuable and i have more chances to grt good job and gain experience. one of my friend toulde me alot of things rearding this course which can help me in my future.

Moreover, in this course there are placements, which is best way to learn new things and experience something different.i want to request you to cancel my previous course and please book my new course psw . i will be very grateful to you . i will pay more fees for that course . hopefully you will do my registration by this week.i will be very thankful to you.

Your's sincerly,

Nancy Nancy

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 a new course. However, the development of these ideas is quite basic. The explanation for the change is repetitive, and the tone is somewhat informal for a formal letter to a college administrator. To improve, ensure that your tone is consistently professional and that you provide slightly more detail regarding the administrative process, such as mentioning your student ID or the specific dates of the course, to make the request more realistic and effective.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your request. However, the use of cohesive devices is limited and sometimes mechanical. For example, the transition 'Moreover' is used, but the flow between sentences within paragraphs is often choppy due to run-on sentences and a lack of appropriate punctuation. The logical progression is clear, but the overall structure would benefit from more varied linking words and better sentence boundary control to improve the flow of information.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is sufficient to convey the message, but it is quite basic and contains several spelling errors, such as 'collage' instead of 'college', 'grt' instead of 'get', and 'toulde' instead of 'told'. There is also a lack of formal register; phrases like 'change my mind' are acceptable but could be more professional. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise, academic vocabulary related to course administration and avoid informal abbreviations or spelling mistakes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including issues with subject-verb agreement ('I want tell you'), missing articles, and incorrect punctuation. Many sentences are run-on, lacking necessary full stops to separate independent clauses. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors in basic sentence structure and punctuation significantly impacts the readability of the letter. To improve, focus on mastering simple sentence structures before attempting more complex ones, and pay close attention to capitalization and end-of-sentence punctuation.

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

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