Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-27

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 6.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to cancel the booking of the cookery part-time course I recently booked in your college. I booked this course on 15 October, unfortunately, I want to widraw my name from booked seat.

The main reason behind cancellation on this booking is recent marriage of my real sister. I and my family utilized all our saving on this occasion expenses. Due to this, I am struggling financially and looking for a full-time job to support I and my family financially. Currently it is challenging for me to study this course as it requires substantial funding. Although I want to cancel this booking, I can study kitchen mangement or any cheaper course from your college.

I would therefore request that you cancel my current booking and send me the list of courses with lower fees. I apologize for any inconvience it may caused.

I look forward hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Manish Thakur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You have addressed all parts of the prompt well. You clearly stated which course you booked (the cookery part-time course), explained why you need to cancel (financial struggles following your sister's wedding), and asked about booking a different, more affordable course like kitchen management. Your tone is appropriately formal and polite for a letter to a college administrator. The purpose of the letter is immediately clear, and your ideas are sufficiently developed to meet the requirements of General Training Task 1. Although there are some minor awkward phrasings such as 'widraw my name from booked seat', all three bullet points from the prompt are fully covered and integrated logically into the structure of the letter. Therefore, this response meets the criteria for a solid band 6.5 or 7.0, and I am awarding a band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

Your letter follows a logical structure with a clear opening, well-defined body paragraphs, and a standard closing formula. You make use of some cohesive devices such as 'Although', 'Therefore', and 'The main reason behind', which help guide the reader through your explanation and requests. However, paragraphing could be slightly more refined, and some transitional links feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. Referencing is generally clear, though minor cohesive slips occur, such as 'inconvience it may caused'. Overall arrangement is coherent and the message flows adequately from the cancellation to the inquiry about alternative courses. This performance fits comfortably within the band 6.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting some less common collocations such as 'financial struggles', 'full-time job', and 'substantial funding'. However, there are several noticeable lexical errors and inappropriate word choices, such as 'widraw' instead of 'withdraw', 'saving' instead of 'savings', and 'mangement' instead of 'management'. Additionally, phrases like 'recent marriage of my real sister' sound a bit unnatural in English; 'the recent wedding of my sister' would be much more appropriate. These errors do not impede communication since your meaning remains clear, but they prevent you from achieving a higher band score. This vocabulary profile aligns well with band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over grammar with structures like 'Although I want to cancel this booking, I can study...' and 'I would therefore request that you cancel...'. However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward constructions throughout the text. Examples include 'I recently booked in your college' (should be 'at your college'), 'cancellation on this booking' (should be 'of'), 'support I and my family' (should be 'my family and me'), and 'inconvience it may caused' (should be 'inconvenience it may have caused'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but subject-verb agreement and pronoun cases need attention. Because errors are frequent enough to distract the reader while communication remains intact, a band 6.0 is appropriate.

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

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