Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-20

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 5.5)

Hi,

I hope you are doig well. I would like to request you to change my program. I have applied for Project management program in septmber-2027 intake. My education background is in engineering field and I would like to pursue another engineering program. One of the graduates guide me that Project management course is mainly for the business purpose but if I need to learn something specific than PM course is not for me. Therefore, I have decided to pursue my career in Environmental field.

I have checked Environmental science course on your website and I found that all subjects in this course are very interesting and I believe that graduates will have good opportunities in the future. My goal in the future is to work as environmentalist and this ES course would taught me practical skills required on the field.

Please let me know if you need anything from my side. I will wait for your approval.

Thank you

Kind regards,

Vaibhav

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all parts of the prompt, but there is a slight misinterpretation regarding the specific task requirements. The prompt asks you to cancel a booking and ask about booking a different course, but your letter starts by saying 'I would like to request you to change my program' and mentions canceling/switching. Furthermore, the opening greeting used 'Hi,' instead of the required 'Dear Sir or Madam,' as explicitly stated in the instructions. While you successfully mention the Project management course and explain your shift to the Environmental science course, the failure to follow the specific opening convention and framing the letter as a cancellation keeps this criterion at band 5.5. To achieve a higher band, ensure all prompt bullet points are precisely followed and adhere strictly to requested conventions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter has a generally coherent overall arrangement, but paragraphing needs improvement. The main body of your letter is squashed into one long, dense paragraph that addresses multiple points: the reason for cancellation, the background, the new course, and your future goals. Breaking this into two distinct paragraphs would have improved readability and logical progression. Cohesive devices are somewhat basic; you rely on connectors like 'Therefore,' and 'and,' but referencing can be slightly unclear at times, such as 'One of the graduates guide me'. Overall, the organization is sufficient for a band 6.0, as the progression of ideas is still easy to follow despite the structural limitations.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task and communicates your meaning, but it is somewhat limited and contains noticeable inaccuracies. For instance, you wrote 'doig' instead of doing, 'graduates guide me' instead of guided me, and 'for the business purpose' instead of business purposes. There are also awkward collocations like 'Environmental field' and 'on the field' instead of 'in the field'. However, you do attempt some less common vocabulary such as 'pursue' and 'opportunities', demonstrating a sufficient range for a band 6.0. To improve further, pay closer attention to word formation, preposition usage, and spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'I believe that graduates will have good opportunities in the future.' However, your writing contains several noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing. For example, you wrote 'I hope you are doig well' (spelling error), 'Project management program in septmber-2027 intake' (missing capitalization and preposition), and 'this ES course would taught me' (incorrect verb tense after a modal, should be 'would teach'). Punctuation and article usage also need refinement. Because these errors occur frequently but do not impede the overall communication of your message, a band 5.0 is appropriate.

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

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