Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-09

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You have enrolled in an evening course but you have found that you are too busy to continue and would like to take the course next term instead.

• explain the situation and why you cannot continue the course

• say what you would like to do about your studies

• ask for advice about what you can do about the situation

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to request an exemption for this term evening course. My sister had an accident on the 7th of July 2026 and has been hospitalised therefore she would require my assistance at the hospital. I would like to be excused from this year's course as it would be rather challenging to concentrate on my studies as a result of the trauma from hearing this sad news as it could affect my examination results. She is an orphan and incapable of taking care of herself, however I require your advice on how to handle this situation. I was wondering if I could take a break for the moment and render some help to her. In addition, I require an exemption letter from the department in order to facilitate my leave and resume next term to continue my course.

I look forward to hearing from you, I would be very grateful, if my request is granted.

Yours faithfully,

Ajawara Chidimma

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: explaining the situation, stating your desired outcome, and asking for advice. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter. However, the development of ideas is slightly inconsistent. For instance, you mention needing an 'exemption letter' to facilitate your leave, which is a bit unclear in the context of simply wanting to defer to the next term. While the situation is explained, the connection between the accident and the specific request for an 'exemption letter' could be more logically linked to the administrative process of deferring a course.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical progression, moving from the reason for writing to the specific request and finally the closing. You use some cohesive devices such as 'In addition' and 'however'. However, the paragraphing is insufficient; the entire body of the letter is contained in one block, which makes it harder to read. Breaking the text into distinct paragraphs for the situation, the request, and the closing would significantly improve the structure and flow of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'exemption', 'hospitalised', 'facilitate', and 'incapable'. There are some minor issues with collocation and word choice, such as 'request an exemption for this term evening course' (which sounds slightly unnatural; 'defer my enrollment' would be better) and 'render some help' (which is a bit formal/archaic in this context). Overall, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly without any significant confusion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical errors, such as the run-on sentence 'My sister had an accident... and has been hospitalised therefore she would require my assistance'. The use of punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma splices and the lack of a full stop after 'hospitalised'. While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede the reader's understanding of your message. To reach a higher band, focus on using more varied sentence connectors and improving punctuation accuracy.

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

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