Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-11

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 or Madam,

I am Navneet Kaur from your college. I am new student in college so i think you do not know me. Actually, i am writting this letter to you because did one mistake, i choose wrong course for part time. So, i want to cancel it and select other course on this place. Whatever, i passed my intermidiate from science now i want to do bachelor of science, i am also interseted in this course not in a bcom. A part from this,i have alot of knowlege in science it will be helpful for me in new course. Beside, i do not know about bcom anything so i can not be handle this.

I will be glad if you help me to book a new couse for part time. i will be waiting for your good ressponse and ask me for which formalities have do for change the course.

Thanks,

Navneet kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover the main purpose by identifying that you booked BCom, explaining that your science background makes it unsuitable, and asking for help to book another part-time course. However, the request to cancel is not stated as clearly as it could be: “I want to cancel it and select other course” is understandable but does not specify the course you want instead with certainty. The reason is relevant, though the explanation that you “do not know about bcom anything” is brief and could be developed more clearly. To strengthen the letter, name the booked course directly, state the cancellation request formally, and ask whether a specific Bachelor of Science course is available and what steps are required.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter has a recognisable sequence: you introduce yourself, explain the course problem, and finish by asking the college to help with a change. This gives the reader a basic sense of purpose. However, the ideas are crowded into one long paragraph, and the progression is weakened by abrupt or unsuitable links such as “Whatever,” “A part from this,” and “Beside.” Some references are also unclear, particularly “on this place” and “this,” which make the requested change harder to follow. Use separate paragraphs for the cancellation reason and the new-course enquiry, and connect ideas with straightforward, accurate transitions such as “However” and “In addition.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough relevant vocabulary to communicate the general situation, including “part time,” “cancel,” “course,” “bachelor of science,” and “formalities.” However, the range is limited and several spelling and word-choice errors make the letter less clear or less appropriate for a college administrator. Examples include “writting,” “intermidiate,” “interseted,” “knowlege,” and “ressponse”; “select other course” and “do not know about bcom anything” are also unnatural expressions. Aim for accurate, conventional phrases such as “change my enrolment,” “my previous studies in science,” and “the required procedure.” Proofreading spelling and choosing more precise collocations would make your meaning easier to understand.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to combine ideas in longer sentences, for example when explaining your science background and why you want a different course. However, the range of sentence structures is limited, and complex attempts are often faulty. Errors include “I am new student,” “because did one mistake,” and “i will be waiting … and ask me for which formalities have do,” where articles, sentence structure, verb forms, and capitalisation interfere with accuracy. Several sentences also run together without clear punctuation. Practise building complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, such as “I chose the wrong course, so I would like to cancel my booking.” Check articles, verb forms, and sentence boundaries carefully.

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

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