Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter to cancel my part-time course which is "Business Administration" and I want to enroll in different part-time course "Bookkeeping for Business".

Few weeks ago I purchased "Business Administration" course from your college for better understanding of business releted topics. Currently I am working for shipping company and they suggesting me that they will provide me a business releted lectures from seniors who has already completed this course and have similar experience in this industries. My employer advices me that instead of learning Business Admintistration I will learn Bookkeeping for Business because after 8 months current bookkeeper quitting his job so as a result they will need a new bookeeper for fulfil this position. In addition, If I have a basic knowledge of bookkeeping they will give me a promotion as a bookkeeper which is very helpful for me rightnow.

I hope you will understand my situation and transfer me into "Bookkeeping for Business" course.

Best regards,

Krish

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points: the course booked is identified, the reason for cancellation is explained, and a request for a different course is made. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to an administrator. The ideas are relevant and clearly presented, although the explanation regarding the employer's advice is slightly repetitive. The purpose of the letter is clear from the beginning, and the reader is left with no doubt about the student's intentions. Overall, the response fulfills the requirements of the task effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the narrative. There is a clear progression from the initial request to the explanation and finally the closing inquiry. Cohesive devices such as 'In addition' and 'as a result' are used to link ideas, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The referencing is generally clear, though the flow between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother. Overall, the structure is coherent and supports the message well.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to convey their meaning clearly. There are some spelling errors, such as 'releted' (related), 'Admintistration' (Administration), and 'bookeeper' (bookkeeper). While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede communication. The student uses some topic-specific vocabulary like 'enroll', 'promotion', and 'position', which is appropriate. To reach a higher band, the student should focus on accuracy in spelling and attempt to use more varied collocations to express their situation more precisely.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'they suggesting me' (they suggested to me), 'seniors who has' (seniors who have), and 'rightnow' (right now). Additionally, there are issues with article usage and verb tense consistency. While these errors are frequent, they do not prevent the reader from understanding the core message. The student demonstrates an attempt at complex sentences, but control over these structures needs improvement to minimize errors.

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

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