Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-14

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,

Subject: Cancellation of my course booking.

I am writing to cancel my part-time Project Management course, which is going to start with the next batch. I was very excited to join this course but I have to go to Toronto next week for my urgent business meetings which require me to stay there for at least 2 months to attend my all meetings, as well as seminars. These are very crucial for me and my company to get top notch sponsors and great deals. I tried a lot to reschedule my meetings but unfortunately I failed to reschedule it.

In addition, I would like to request you to refund my credits so I can use my these credits for a reservation of the Digital Marketing course, which is going to start after 4 months. I hope that you will understand me. I would be thankful to you for your assistance.

I am looking forward to your positive response.

Yours faithfully,

Sukhbir.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully covered all three bullet points required for this general training letter. You clearly stated which part-time course you booked ('Project Management course'), explained why you need to cancel due to urgent business meetings in Toronto, and asked about booking a different course ('Digital Marketing course'). The tone is appropriately formal and polite throughout, maintaining a suitable letter format from the opening 'Dear Sir or Madam' to 'Yours faithfully, Sukhbir'. Your purpose is immediately clear, and the ideas are extended with relevant supporting details regarding the business trip and sponsorship goals. This fully meets the expectations for Band 7, where all parts of the task are addressed with a clear purpose and adequately supported ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

Your letter shows a clear overall progression and logical organisation. The structure moves naturally from the purpose of writing to the background explanation, followed by the request for a credit transfer and a polite closing. You make use of standard transitional phrases such as 'In addition' to introduce new points effectively. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate your main ideas, keeping the letter easy to read and follow. While paragraphing and referencing are mostly clear, expressions like 'use my these credits' show slightly awkward internal cohesion at the phrasal level, preventing a higher score. Overall, your ideas are logically sequenced, fitting the Band 7 descriptor for clear logical organization and progression.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a formal request letter, incorporating terms such as 'cancellation', 'reschedule', 'reservation', and 'assistance'. There are some attempts at less common lexical items like 'top notch sponsors' and 'crucial', showing a willingness to expand your range. However, there are some minor lexical slips and unnatural collocations, such as 'urgent business meetings which require me to stay there for at least 2 months to attend my all meetings', where 'all meetings' is repetitive, and 'refund my credits' instead of 'transfer my fees'. These occasional inaccuracies place your lexical performance solidly at Band 6, where vocabulary is adequate for the task with some attempts at less common words.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You have attempted a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses ('which is going to start with the next batch') and conditional or causal links ('so I can use...'). There are, however, several grammatical inaccuracies and redundant phrasings throughout the text. For instance, writing 'my these credits' contains a doubled determiner, and 'failed to reschedule it' uses a singular pronoun 'it' to refer back to plural 'meetings'. Additionally, phrases like 'which is going to start with the next batch' could be phrased more naturally. Despite these errors, they rarely impede communication, and the overall meaning remains clear. This corresponds closely to the Band 6 descriptor, featuring a mix of structures with some persistent errors.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.