Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-14

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,

My name is Peter Parker and I am enrolled for the health care management course. I am writing this letter to let you know that I need to cancel my booking for the health care management course. The reason behind taking off the course that I have been booked I heard that for health care management I had to go to the university 3 times a week. I am planing to learn from my mother's house It is far from the university so It is difficult to attend all 3 classes in the university. Occupational health provides online courses which more flexible to me and it suits my availability. So I changed my decision to take the occupatinal health instead of the management course.

I would like to know that the protocol should I follow to take a new course instead of the old one. I also wanted let you know that I had paid the fees for the first semester for the management course Is it possible to get the refund or It would be better the money is transfered as the fees for the first semester for the occupational health.

Thank you.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You address all three required points: you identify the health care management course, explain that travelling to campus three times a week is difficult, and ask how to switch to occupational health. The reason is supported with relevant detail about staying at your mother’s house, and the request about transferring the fees adds a useful practical question. Your purpose remains clear throughout. To make the response more fully developed, clarify whether you have already decided to take the alternative course or are asking whether it is available, and give a little more context for the change. Also use the requested opening, “Dear Sir or Madam,” and close with an appropriate formal sign-off.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter follows a sensible overall order: it introduces the booking, explains the reason for cancelling, and then asks about changing courses and handling the payment. This makes the main message understandable. However, the explanation and the final request are each packed into long blocks, and several ideas run together without clear sentence boundaries—for example, the sentence beginning “The reason behind taking off the course” continues through the travel problem and the alternative course. Separate these points into paragraphs and use full stops to mark each step. Some linking is also mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “course” and “I also wanted.” Clearer paragraphing and more precise links between the cancellation and transfer requests would make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the situation, including “cancel my booking,” “flexible,” “availability,” and “refund.” These choices help convey the practical reason for writing. However, several noticeable word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems reduce precision: “taking off the course” is not natural for cancelling enrolment, “protocol” is too formal and vague for the procedure you mean, and “occupatinal” is misspelled. “Health care management” and “management course” are also repeated often. Choose more natural expressions such as “withdraw from the course,” “the steps I need to follow,” and “occupational health,” and vary references where possible. More accurate collocations and spelling would make the letter sound more fluent and appropriately formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response attempts both simple and more complex sentences, and the reader can generally understand the intended message. However, errors in sentence construction and punctuation are frequent enough to make some parts difficult to follow. For example, “The reason behind taking off the course that I have been booked I heard…” lacks a clear grammatical structure, while “I also wanted let you know” is missing “to.” The sentence about the fees joins separate questions without a full stop, and capitalisation after “house” and “It” is inconsistent. Practise building complete clauses, especially when explaining reasons, and divide long sentences into shorter ones. Check verb patterns such as “wanted to let” and use punctuation to separate each request.

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

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