Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-02
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 6.5)
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to you to request a cancelation of a part-time course which I booked recenly.
On 25th of August, I booked a short-time course called Strategic management from your college. Head of Admin Department (Sam Roushdy) helped me to pay the advance payment of this course in his office.
Right now the situation is very different and I am not going forward with this course.There are several reasons of this change including relevancy of course with previous studies as well as my professor also recommended me the relevant course for my better future.
As I recently completed my bachelor of pharmaceutical science. Supply chain management will be the best and reliable option for me. This course consist various factors associated with pharmaceutical packaging, handling, and delivering, and as a result, please change my course from Strategic management to Supply chain management.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
Steven Crone
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5
The letter addresses all three requirements: it identifies the Strategic Management course, explains that your recent pharmaceutical science degree and a professor’s recommendation have changed your plans, and asks to switch to Supply Chain Management. Your purpose is clear throughout, and the reasons are relevant and supported with some detail, particularly the link between the new course and pharmaceutical packaging, handling, and delivery. To make the request more complete and persuasive, clarify whether you want to cancel the original booking and make a new booking, and ask about practical arrangements such as transferring your advance payment or available places. The explanation of why the professor’s recommendation makes the alternative course more suitable could also be developed further.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The information follows a sensible sequence: you state your purpose, identify the original booking, explain the change in circumstances, and request the alternative course. Paragraphing helps distinguish these stages, and phrases such as “Right now” and “As I recently completed” signal transitions. The overall arrangement is coherent, but some links between ideas are abrupt. For example, “There are several reasons” introduces reasons that are then compressed into one sentence, while the next paragraph moves quickly from your degree to the course-change request. Develop the explanation in a clearer progression and use reference words or linking phrases more precisely. Also separate “course” from the following sentence after “this course” to avoid a distracting punctuation break.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
You use an adequate range of vocabulary for a formal cancellation and course-change letter, including “advance payment,” “relevant course,” and “pharmaceutical packaging.” These choices communicate the main points, and the subject-specific terms help explain your preference. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “short-time course,” “relevancy of course,” and “reliable option.” There are also spelling errors in “cancelation” and “recenly,” which reduce the accuracy of the letter’s formal presentation. Aim for more conventional administrative phrasing and check spelling carefully. More precise wording would make your reasons sound clearer and more professional without requiring a much wider vocabulary.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0
The letter includes both straightforward sentences and attempts at more complex structures, such as “As I recently completed my bachelor of pharmaceutical science” and the sentence explaining the course’s relevance to your career. The meaning is generally clear, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “On 25th of August” needs an article, “Head of Admin Department … helped me to pay” has an unclear grammatical relationship, and “This course consist” has a subject–verb agreement error. The final long sentence also joins the course description and request awkwardly. Practise accurate articles, agreement, and sentence boundaries, and revise complex sentences so each clause has a clear subject and verb.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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