Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-28

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,

It is stated that ,i had enrolled myself in french class as i wanted to polish my abilty to be fluent in more than singular language and being able to be trilingual as i already know urdu and english language further more i had a lot of free time that i wanted to ultilize but I've realized with the passage of time that i need to learn German language more as for its more usefull because am planning to move there for further education and i think that learning a language that could help me fluently communicate with the locals there in germany is more benificial towards my future than frech language that i only wanted to learn for the sake of my interest only that wouldn't have been that helpful,i hope you'll under stand my request to change my class as soon as possible

i shall be thankfull to you sir

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the booked course as French and explain that you now need German because you plan to move there for further education and want to communicate with local people. This gives the reader a relevant reason for cancelling. However, the request is framed mainly as changing your class, rather than clearly cancelling the French booking, and you do not directly ask whether a different course can be booked or how to arrange it. The explanation also spends considerable space on your original interest in languages, while the practical request remains unclear. State explicitly that you wish to cancel the French course, then ask whether you can enrol in a German course and what steps are required. This would address each part more fully and clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The ideas are relevant and there is a basic sequence: you mention the French class, explain your changed plans, and make a request. However, almost the entire letter is presented as one long sentence, so the reader has to work to separate the booking details, reason, and request. Linking phrases such as “further more,” “but,” and “because” are used, but they do not create clear progression when several ideas are joined together. The closing is also separated only by a line break, without a distinct paragraph for the request. Organise the letter into short paragraphs and use full stops to mark each main point. A clear order—cancellation, reason, alternative-course enquiry—would make the message easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use vocabulary relevant to the situation, including “enrolled,” “further education,” “communicate,” and “trilingual,” and the reader can understand your main reason for changing plans. However, several spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, including “abilty,” “ultilize,” “usefull,” “benificial,” and “frech.” Some expressions are also unnatural or imprecise for a formal letter, such as “polish my ability to be fluent” and “for the sake of my interest only.” Use more natural collocations such as “improve my French” and “because German will be more useful for my studies.” A more formal, precise vocabulary would help you explain the cancellation and alternative booking clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to connect several reasons using clauses with “as,” “because,” and “that,” showing some willingness to use complex structures. However, these structures are often difficult to control: the opening “It is stated that, I had enrolled…” is not an appropriate construction, and the long sentence contains unclear clause boundaries. There are also errors in sentence formation and punctuation, including the comma after “that,” the lowercase “i,” and the run-on ending before “i hope.” These issues make the letter harder to read, even though its general meaning can be understood. Use shorter sentences, check subject–verb and article patterns, and punctuate each complete idea. For example: “I booked a French course, but I would now like to cancel it.”

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

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