Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-01
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 5.0)
Good Evening i booked automotive engginering part time course last week,i want confirm some my topic i read your course terms and condtions its not match in my course because i want only study part time and automotive relevent your part time couese is good but i have busy time at this month, when i booked this course i was free that time i booked this course for my next future,i want to confirm to you i want cancel this part time course,
i know you people think why this guy cancel i want explain to you because now this month i am working in engginering shop that shop have lots of work that shop in repair ride on mowers,power tools ,gensets repair we are also repairing big engines and small engines,my work 8am start and finesh 5 pm so all time i am busy when i fineshed my work after five pm after that i have some delivery that work hard for me it is not easy work when this work is fineshed i have no time left i am eaving alone after work need to mke plan for cooking ,you people know single person can not make food proper way it is hard take time for part time course so my next plaing is i will start this course next month please cancel this booking,
if you have less time part time course i can start please advise if you have part time course every day only for ten minute.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response covers all parts of the prompt, as the writer mentions the booked automotive engineering part-time course, explains the need to cancel due to a busy work schedule and cooking responsibilities, and asks about booking a different or shorter course. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive, particularly the extended explanation about working in the engineering shop and living alone. The tone is overly informal and conversational for a formal letter to a college administrator, lacking appropriate formal sign-offs. To reach a higher level, the ideas need to be extended more clearly with a more consistent tone and fully developed reasoning.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The letter shows some basic organization, but there is no clear overall progression because the entire text is written as one long, run-on paragraph with minimal breaks. Cohesive devices are largely inadequate or missing, relying heavily on commas to link independent clauses rather than proper conjunctions or transition words. Pronoun referencing is sometimes unclear, such as repetitive phrases like 'that shop' and 'this work'. To improve Coherence and Cohesion, the writer needs to divide the text into logical paragraphs—separate paragraphs for the booking, the explanation, and the inquiry—and use a wider range of appropriate cohesive devices to guide the reader smoothly through the letter.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task. There are noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and word formation, such as 'engginering' instead of engineering, 'relevent' for relevant, 'fineshed' for finished, and 'plaing' for planning. While the writer attempts to use some topic-related vocabulary like 'automotive engineering' and 'part-time course', frequent spelling errors and awkward phrasing cause some difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher band, the writer must expand their lexical range, use less common vocabulary more accurately, and pay closer attention to basic spelling conventions.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5
The response demonstrates a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences joined incorrectly by commas, resulting in frequent run-on sentences. There are frequent errors in verb forms, tense consistency, and basic sentence construction, such as 'its not match in my course' and 'i booked this course for my next future'. Punctuation is particularly weak, with missing capital letters at the beginning of sentences and improper comma splices throughout the text. These frequent errors cause considerable difficulty for the reader and restrict the grammar score. Incorporating complex sentence forms with accurate subordinate clauses and fixing basic punctuation will be essential for future improvement.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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