Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-30

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)

Dear Sir/ Madam,

I am writing this letter regarding the cancellation of my course that I booked recently at your college. I finished my studies as a Social Service worker and pursuing my job in this field. To develop my knowledge in menaland physical condition of Autistic persons, this course is my prefernce. This course is the part-time and college is near to my work and home. However, I Have to cancel this course because of the timing. Most of the classes are in evening. I tried to have a conversation with college management to request a different slot and batch for same course, but they can't do nothing because of the availablilty.

I would like to request about the information and the availabilty of different course in same field. It would be very helpful for me if you can

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The candidate covers all the required bullet points by stating which course was booked, explaining the need to cancel due to timing issues, and asking about alternative courses. However, there is a minor omission in fully developing the final bullet point as the letter trails off abruptly at the end. Furthermore, as noted in the length check, the response contains only 140 words, failing to meet the minimum requirement of 150 words. This under-length impacts the overall development and completeness of the task. Consequently, these factors limit the task achievement score, resulting in a band 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear purpose established in the opening. The paragraphs are partially managed, though the letter lacks a proper closing sign-off and cuts off mid-sentence at the end. Cohesive devices are somewhat basic and mechanical, such as 'However' and 'This course is the part-time'. Referencing is generally clear, but the lack of a smooth progression to the final question and the abrupt ending detract from the overall cohesion. Paragraphing is also affected by the under-length nature of the text. Overall, these cohesion and structure issues place this response firmly in the band 6.0 category.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some topic-specific items such as 'Social Service worker', 'Autistic persons', and 'college management'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'menaland' instead of 'mental and', 'prefernce' instead of 'preference', 'availablilty' instead of 'availability', and 'in same field' instead of 'in the same field'. Additionally, expressions like 'they can't do nothing' contain grammatical and lexical infelicities. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they restrict the lexical score to band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures like 'I tried to have a conversation with college management to request a different slot...'. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation. Examples include missing articles ('college is near to my work'), double negatives ('they can't do nothing'), and incorrect prepositions ('in evening' instead of 'in the evening'). The letter also ends with an incomplete sentence ('It would be very helpful for me if you can...'). These persistent errors occasionally cause difficulty or require re-reading, aligning the grammar with a band 5.5.

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

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