Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to inform you that I want to cancel the four month culinary course in your college which I registered last month. The course is going to start in November 2026 and I am registered at your downtown location.

The timeline of the course is not working with my full time college because college is also starting from November and I need to pay more attention towards the Management course. Other reason for cancellation is that, the college is 20 kilometers away from the place where i live.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

You identify the booked course clearly as a four-month culinary course, and give two relevant reasons for cancelling: the clash with your full-time college studies and the distance from home. However, the response does not address the request to ask about booking a different course, and the reasons are only briefly explained. The letter also stops before a suitable closing, so the purpose is not fully completed. Most importantly, the response contains 98 words, which is 52 words below the required minimum of 150; this leaves too little space to develop the situation and make the request. Add a clear question about alternative courses, such as available options and dates, and expand the explanation and polite request.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The information is presented in a generally understandable order: you first state the purpose and identify the course, then explain why you need to cancel. The paragraph break also separates the course details from the reasons. Linking is limited, however, and the second paragraph begins with “Other reason,” which does not connect smoothly to the preceding explanation. The letter ends abruptly after the reasons, without a paragraph making your request or a closing. To improve progression, organise the letter into a brief opening, a paragraph explaining the cancellation, and a final paragraph asking about another course and thanking the administrator. Use clear transitions such as “In addition” and “Could you please let me know…”

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for communicating the main situation, with relevant terms such as “culinary course,” “registered,” and “cancellation.” You also use “timeline” and “full-time,” showing some range beyond very basic wording. Some choices are less natural or precise: “the timeline of the course is not working with my full time college” would be clearer as a scheduling conflict, while “the place where I live” can be expressed more concisely. The repeated use of “college” also makes the explanation less precise, since it refers both to the course provider and your current studies. Aim for more natural collocations and distinguish the two institutions clearly; this will make the letter sound more fluent and appropriately formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and more developed sentence forms, and the main meaning remains clear. For example, “I am writing to inform you that I want to cancel…” is a clear purpose statement, while the sentence explaining that your college starts in November gives a reason. Some grammatical errors remain: “Other reason” needs an article or plural form (“Another reason”), and “because college is also starting” would be more complete as “because my college is also starting.” The lowercase “i” should be capitalised, and the comma after “is that” is unnecessary. These are generally minor and do not prevent understanding. To strengthen accuracy, check articles, possessives, capitalisation, and punctuation, while continuing to use a range of sentence structures.

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

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