Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-04

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,

I am writing this letter to request you if you could please cancel and replace my booking that i have made for part-time Marketing Management strategy class to Leadership Skills.

As i am currently pursuing a full-time Business Management Course in your college and want to excel in Business World. In order to enhance my knowledge, I enrolled in short term Marketing Course, which is going to be start in next month.

However, I realized that my interest is more into Human Resource Management , rather than learning new techniques of sales. Therefore, I would like to alter my booking according to my preference. Also, it would be great if you can give me a refund of my previous booking. If

I hope you will definitely try to accommodate me at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Navpreet Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The letter covers all three bullet points: identifying the course, explaining the reason for cancellation, and requesting a change. However, the response is under the 150-word minimum, which impacts the development of ideas. The explanation for the change is somewhat brief, and the request for a refund is phrased awkwardly. Because the response is under-length, it fails to fully develop the points as required for higher bands. To improve, ensure you expand on your reasons and provide a more formal, complete structure to meet the length requirement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical structure with a clear opening and closing. Paragraphing is used to separate the introduction, the explanation, and the request. However, the flow is occasionally interrupted by grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as the incomplete sentence 'If'. The use of cohesive devices like 'However' and 'Therefore' is present but basic. To improve, ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and that transitions between ideas are smoother and more varied.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and variety expected at higher levels. Phrases like 'want to excel in Business World' and 'my interest is more into' are slightly unnatural. There are also minor errors in word choice, such as 'Marketing Management strategy class' which is clunky. To reach a higher band, focus on using more sophisticated collocations and formal business terminology appropriate for a letter to an administrator.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors that affect clarity. For example, 'request you if you could please cancel' is grammatically incorrect, and 'which is going to be start' contains a tense error. Punctuation is also inconsistent, and the sentence 'If' is left incomplete. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents a higher score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and correct verb forms.

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

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