Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-03

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)

Hlo,sir

Last week, i got a new casual course in hospitalty by a mistake. In which stream,i am studying currently in your college this temporary course is almost different because i am medical student.

Therefore, i unable to attend this course , on the other hand, i need to stay in institute until 12 pm because college does not provide classes early regarding this course. So that, i cannot pursue in this vocational training.

Furthermore,i wants to take healthcare training short/term diploma which your insitute started in the last semseter which is beneficial for my career.Because, if i get enrollment in this field,so i can get advantage to get job in better health system.

thanks

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt only partially, and it falls short of the minimum length requirement of one hundred and fifty words, containing only one hundred and fifteen words. While the letter attempts to cover all bullet points by stating the course booked, giving a reason for cancellation, and asking about an alternative, these ideas remain limited and under-developed. For instance, the mention that the booking was made by mistake lacks clarity regarding how this occurred, and the explanation concerning the timetable clash is difficult to follow. Furthermore, the greeting is inappropriate for a formal college administrator, using casual phrasing like 'Hlo,sir' instead of a standard professional salutation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter displays some organization, but there is no clear overall progression of ideas, and paragraphing is poorly handled. The text is divided into very short, disjointed blocks rather than cohesive paragraphs that group related points together. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or inaccurately, such as the repetitive use of 'So that' and 'Because' to link clauses, which disrupts the logical flow. Additionally, referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the precise connection between events, such as the transition between explaining the current timetable issue and introducing the request for a different healthcare diploma.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary range is limited and minimally adequate for the task, with noticeable errors that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. There are several inappropriate word choices and spelling errors, such as 'hospitalty' instead of hospitality, 'insitute' instead of institute, and 'semseter' instead of semester. The student attempts to use less common items like 'vocational training' and 'beneficial', but these are undermined by collocation and word form issues, such as writing 'got a new casual course' instead of enrolled in a part-time course. These lexical slips hinder precise communication throughout the letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing demonstrates a limited range of structures, relying mostly on simple sentences alongside faulty attempts at complex ones. Frequent grammatical and punctuation errors occur throughout the text, including incorrect prepositions ('in hospitalty by a mistake', 'in your college'), tense confusion ('which your insitute started'), and missing articles. For example, clauses are often strung together incorrectly without proper subordination or punctuation, such as 'Because, if i get enrollment in this field,so i can get advantage'. These frequent errors place a heavy burden on the reader and reflect a weak control of basic grammatical patterns.

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

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