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,

I am writing this letter to make amendements with my booking for the course I have choosen and I would like to make a new booking for a different course.

I have booked Gerontology Interprofessional Practice a diploma course but now due to some financial emergency I will not be able to afford such expensive course. Along with that I have studied the similar kind of course last year so I have now changed my mind to cancel the booking for this course so anyone else can get the admission as this course is in high demand. I am requesting for cancellations as I came to know about the fee structure yesterday and I was not quite satisfied.

I would like to request you to book me for the Chronic Disease Management course so I can get the novel expereience along with the degree. The given course will be cost effective for me and solve my issue.

I have attached the application form for the new addmission requirement with this letter. Please confirm your approval as per your your availability.

Best Regards,

Anjali

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The student has successfully addressed all three bullet points required in the prompt. First, the specific part-time course is clearly stated: "Gerontology Interprofessional Practice a diploma course". Second, the reason for cancellation is explained by mentioning a "financial emergency" and prior knowledge of a similar subject. Third, the letter asks about booking an alternative course, specifically the "Chronic Disease Management course". The tone of the letter is generally appropriate for a formal communication with a college administrator, although the overall development of ideas could be slightly more refined. However, all core requirements of the task are fully covered, meeting the criteria for a solid performance at this level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter follows a logical paragraph structure that facilitates readability. It begins with a standard formal salutation and a clear opening statement of purpose. Each paragraph has a distinct focus: paragraph two explains the cancellation reasons, paragraph three proposes the new course, and the final paragraph discusses the attached form and approval. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as "Along with that" and "so I can get". However, referencing and transitions are sometimes a bit mechanical or abrupt, for instance in the transition between sentences in the second paragraph. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately overall, maintaining a clear logical progression throughout the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common subject-specific terms such as "Gerontology Interprofessional Practice", "financial emergency", and "Chronic Disease Management". However, there are some noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations. For example, the phrase "make amendements with my booking" contains a spelling error and an incorrect preposition ("with" instead of "to"), and "choosen" is misspelled. Furthermore, phrases like "novel expereience" show an attempt at flexibility, but spelling lapses ("expereience", "addmission") and minor word-choice inaccuracies prevent the lexical score from reaching a higher band. Communication is never impeded, but precision is occasionally lacking.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating a reasonable command of grammar. Examples of complex structures include "...now due to some financial emergency I will not be able to afford such expensive course" and "...so I can get the novel expereience along with the degree." However, there are several grammatical errors and punctuation lapses present throughout the text, such as missing articles ("such expensive course" should be "such an expensive course", "the similar kind of course" should be "a similar kind of course"), spelling mistakes ("choosen", "addmission"), and a repeated word in "your your availability." While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the response from achieving a Band 7.

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

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