Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-05

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,

I am writing to request the cancellation of a part-time course at Conestoga College that I enrolled in the spring 2027 term last month.

I am Malleswari Katari, and I planned to join the French language proficiency course that is going to commence in January 2027. Recently, I was promoted as a new senior business analyst because of the recent organisational restructure. My working schedules have altered that is overlapping the course time table. Therefore, I decided not to move forward with this course. Moreover, my new role demanded that I gain skills in business analysis and refining the decision making choices along with the stakeholders. Learning these not only enhances my professional skill set but also helps me to sustain my new position. In order to enhance my abilities in the business world, I would like to enroll in a business course and will it be possible to defer me to any course that is related to business proficiency. Additionally, I would like to learn more information. Specifically, the following.

When is the course starting?

What is the duration of the course?

Will my previous course fee be applied to the new course?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Malleswari Katari

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly identified the French language course, provided a logical reason for cancellation (a promotion and scheduling conflict), and inquired about switching to a business-related course. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to an administrator. The ideas are well-developed, and the purpose of the letter is clear from the beginning. To reach a higher band, ensure that the transition between the cancellation and the request for a new course is smoother, as the current shift feels slightly abrupt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter follows a logical progression, moving from the purpose of the letter to the explanation and finally the request for information. Paragraphing is used, though the structure could be improved by separating the cancellation details from the inquiry section more distinctly. You use some cohesive devices like 'Moreover' and 'Additionally,' which help the flow. However, the final section containing the questions is a bit fragmented; using full sentences within a paragraph rather than a list format would improve the overall cohesion of the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary, using terms like 'organisational restructure,' 'proficiency,' and 'stakeholders' effectively. There are some minor issues with word choice, such as 'decision making choices' (which is redundant) and 'defer me to any course' (which is slightly unnatural in this context). Despite these minor inaccuracies, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly and professionally. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and avoiding repetitive phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'My working schedules have altered that is overlapping' (which should be 'which are overlapping') and 'will it be possible to defer me' (which is a direct question embedded in a statement, requiring a different structure). While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede communication. You have good control over punctuation and sentence boundaries, and the majority of your sentences are clear and grammatically sound.

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

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