Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-25

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,

I am writing this letter to accept my sincere apologies about the inconvenience that i caused you recently.My name is Mansi and i took admission in south indian cooking course recently.I took admission after seeing the information of your courses from the ABC cooking magazine.

However, after taking this course i went to the class the very first day and i felt that its all about north indian food and only one session is about south indian food which will be take place at the end of the course.Actually, i enrolled in this course because i want to know how to make south indian food like masala dosa , idli ,sambar etceteraAs i am from northern side of india i know all the food recipes of Northern India.I just want you to please help me to enroll in the course that particularly teach me the recipes of south indian food .

Thank you for your time and consideration.I hope you will look into this matter and resolve it soon.

Your's faithfully,

Mansi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main purpose and all three requested points: you identify the South Indian cooking course, explain that its content is mostly North Indian, and ask to enrol in a course focused on South Indian recipes. The examples of masala dosa, idli and sambar make your reason clear. This meets the task well, and the explanation is relevant. However, the cancellation itself is not stated directly: “I just want you to please help me to enroll” suggests a change, but you should explicitly ask the administrator to cancel your current booking. The request for a different course is also not specific about availability or the booking process. Making these requests explicit and developing them slightly would make the letter more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable structure, with an opening, an explanation of the problem, a request and a polite closing. “However” signals a shift from the booking background to the reason for writing, and the sequence of events is generally understandable. The main weakness is that the central paragraph carries several ideas in one long, crowded sequence, so the explanation and the request are not clearly separated. The opening apology also does not connect naturally to the purpose of cancelling. Use separate paragraphs for the cancellation reason and the request, and make links between ideas more precise. Check punctuation spacing as well, since missing spaces after full stops make the progression harder to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the situation, including course-related terms such as “enrolled,” “session” and “recipes,” and the food examples add useful specificity. There are also attempts at more formal expressions, such as “Thank you for your time and consideration.” However, some phrases are inaccurate or unnatural for this letter: “accept my sincere apologies about the inconvenience” and “took admission” do not express the intended meaning naturally. “Information of your courses” and “northern side of India” are also awkward. Choose conventional collocations for booking and cancellation, and use “course” consistently rather than switching between “admission” and “enrolment.” These improvements would make the message sound more precise and appropriately formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a reason clause beginning “because” and a time clause beginning “after,” so there is some range. The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical and punctuation errors reduce control. For example, “after taking this course i went to the class” shifts awkwardly between a completed action and the course experience, while “which will be take place” has an incorrect verb form. The sentence beginning “Actually, i enrolled” also runs into “As i am…” without clear punctuation, and several sentences lack spaces after full stops. Review verb forms, sentence boundaries, and capitalisation of “I”; clearer, more controlled complex sentences would strengthen accuracy.

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

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