Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-18

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You work for an international company. You have seen an advertisement for a training course which will be useful for your job.

Write a letter to your manager. In your letter

• describe the training course you want to do
• explain what the company could do to help you
• say how the course will be useful for your job

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Dear Sir,

I am writing to formally request your consent and approval for me to participate in the control training scheduled in Scotland next year.

I would like to develop my knowledge in subsea control systems, as I have been within the hardware section of the company for over 15 years as an offshore supervisor. developing myself in control systems will widen my experience and enable me professionally, in practical and hands-on duty during offshore activities.

In addition, I understand that sponsoring training abroad is expensive, in terms of logistics and employee incentives. however, I am willing to sacrifice my incentives, if my logistics and accommodation is taken care of by the company during the training period. Furthermore, the best investment any industry or family is human capacity development. As you know, my current role as a hardware offshore supervisor, I would be greatly enhance value-wise if control skills are added to my knowledge. Developing myself with control system knowledge would increase my value for the company.

Finally, this improvement request means so much to the company and it is as well, aligned with my individual goals. I would be thankful if my request is considered and granted.

Yours Faithfully,

DAVIDS SOTONYE

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response successfully covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. You described the training course as a control training in Scotland focusing on subsea control systems, explained how the company could help by covering logistics and accommodation while you sacrifice incentives, and explained its usefulness for your job in enhancing your hands-on offshore supervisor duties and increasing value for the company. The tone is appropriately formal for a business letter to a manager. Although the prompt asks to begin with 'Dear Sir or Madam,' you wrote 'Dear Sir', which is a minor slip regarding standard formal conventions, but the overall task is fully addressed. Therefore, this achieves a solid Band 7.0 for fully addressing all parts with clear development.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organised into clear paragraphs, each serving a distinct purpose in developing the request. You make good use of cohesive devices to link ideas, such as 'In addition', 'Furthermore', and 'Finally'. However, there are a few minor formatting and punctuation issues, such as starting sentences with lowercase letters in places (e.g., 'developing myself...'), which slightly affects paragraph flow. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate the introduction, course description, company assistance, job usefulness, and the closing request. Progression is clear throughout, making the letter easy to follow. This performance aligns well with the requirements for Band 6.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate to good range of vocabulary suited to a professional oil and gas context, utilizing terms like 'subsea control systems', 'hardware section', 'offshore supervisor', and 'human capacity development'. There are some good attempts at less common lexical items, but occasional errors in word choice and phrasing occur, such as 'sacrificial incentives' or awkward phrasing in 'the best investment any industry or family is human capacity development'. Spelling is generally accurate, though minor mechanical errors such as starting sentences with lowercase letters ('developing myself', 'however') detract slightly from precision. The vocabulary is sufficient to communicate your message clearly, earning a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, using conditional and relative clauses effectively (e.g., '...if my logistics and accommodation is taken care of...'). There are, however, some grammatical slips and punctuation inaccuracies, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('logistics and accommodation is' instead of 'are'), lowercase sentence beginnings ('however', 'developing'), and a comma splice/awkward construction in 'As you know, my current role as a hardware offshore supervisor, I would be greatly enhance value-wise'. Despite these errors, communication is never impeded, and the majority of sentences maintain good control. This corresponds to a Band 6.0.

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

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