Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-10-17

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,

I trust you are keeping well? I am writing as regards the evening course I enrolled for and the fact that I will not be able to meet up this semester.

The primary reason for this is because I had already planned for my mother to come from Nigeria to the UK and help with care for my 1 year old son but her visa was denied. Though I have reapplied again for her and I am hoping it will be granted this time.

This will make it extremely impossible for me to meet up with my evening lectures for now as there is no one to assist me with his care and I do not intend to miss any of my classes.

I will be glad if you can help with suggestions on how I can go about this. Otherwise, I will have to crave your indulgence for an extension next term.

Regards,

Lekan Balogun

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You explain the central problem clearly: your mother’s visa was denied, leaving you without childcare for your one-year-old son, so you cannot attend evening lectures. You also ask for suggestions and indicate that you would prefer to continue next term. However, the request about your studies is not fully clear: “an extension next term” could mean an extension to the current course rather than deferring or transferring your enrolment. The request for advice is also broad, and the letter does not explicitly ask whether your place can be held or how to enrol next term. Clarifying the action you want and developing the request would make the response more complete and precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall sequence: it introduces the course problem, explains the childcare circumstances, describes the consequence, and ends by asking for help. Paragraphing supports this progression, and links such as “Though” and “Otherwise” help connect ideas. The organisation is easy to follow, but some connections could be more precise. For example, “Otherwise” does not clearly show how the alternative of continuing next term relates to the request for suggestions, while “Though I have reapplied again…” is left as a sentence fragment. A more direct transition into your preferred solution, followed by a specific question about the course arrangements, would make the cohesion more flexible and polished.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range of vocabulary for a formal letter, including “primary reason,” “visa was denied,” “assist me with his care,” and “suggestions.” The meaning remains clear throughout, and the tone is generally appropriate. Some expressions, however, are not natural or precise in this context: “meet up this semester” is an awkward way to describe attending a course, and “crave your indulgence for an extension” is overly elaborate and does not clearly express deferral. “Evening lectures” may also be less accurate than “evening classes” for a course. Choosing more conventional, precise phrases for attendance and postponing enrolment would improve naturalness and control of collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

You show a useful mix of sentence forms, including the complex explanation beginning “The primary reason…” and the conditional structure “if you can help with suggestions.” Several sentences are controlled and easy to understand. A few grammatical issues remain: “Though I have reapplied again for her…” is a dependent clause presented as a complete sentence, and “I will not be able to meet up this semester” uses an unclear grammatical construction for attending the course. The question mark after “I trust you are keeping well” is also unnecessary because this is written as a statement. Joining the dependent clause to the previous sentence and checking sentence boundaries and punctuation would strengthen accuracy.

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