Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-21
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 4.5)
I am writing this letter to inform you. I recently booked a part -time course at a college. This course is about the computer technology. I read this course and become a professional teacher. But I do not understand this course clearly. I asked about this course with my friends they can asked me this course can be changed you do not about this course.The main cause of cancel booking because it also be different to the others. l do not understand about this course. Therefore, l cancel it. My friend suggestion me to change this course and chose the other about the computer technology. Therefore, sir l do not understand this course and I also ask you to change this course and give me the book about the computer technology. Because I read it more interesting. Yours faithfully, Haider
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
You addressed all parts of the prompt by stating the course you booked, explaining why you need to cancel, and asking about switching to a different course. However, your ideas are repetitive and lack full development. For example, you state multiple times that 'I do not understand this course clearly' and mention consulting your friends. Furthermore, the response is under the 150-word minimum requirement, containing only 140 words, which has negatively impacted your task achievement score. To achieve a higher band, ensure you expand on your ideas logically and meet the minimum word count without unnecessary repetition.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.5
The letter lacks logical progression and clear paragraphing, as it is written as a single, dense block of text rather than separate paragraphs for each bullet point. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or repetitively, such as the frequent use of 'Therefore' and 'Because' to link sentences. Referencing is also unclear in places, particularly when you write 'I asked about this course with my friends they can asked me this course can be changed'. This causes confusion for the reader. To improve, you should organise your letter into clear paragraphs with appropriate greetings and sign-offs, and use a wider variety of cohesive devices naturally.
Lexical Resource — Band 4.5
Your vocabulary is basic and repetitive, relying heavily on simple words and phrases such as 'course', 'book', 'understand', and 'friend'. There are also frequent word choice and collocation errors, such as 'read this course and become a professional teacher', 'asked about this course with my friends', and 'cause of cancel booking'. These lexical inaccuracies make parts of your letter difficult to follow. To improve, you need to expand your vocabulary and learn correct collocations associated with formal correspondence and educational contexts.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0
Your grammatical range is very limited, consisting mainly of simple sentences that often contain severe errors in structure and punctuation. Examples of problematic structures include 'The main cause of cancel booking because it also be different to the others' and 'My friend suggestion me to change this course'. Frequent errors in verb tenses, word forms, and sentence fragments impede communication significantly throughout the letter. To reach a higher band, you must practise constructing grammatically correct simple and complex sentences, paying close attention to subject-verb agreement and parts of speech.
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.