Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-11

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You recently did a short cookery course. The cookery school has asked for your feedback on this course. Write a letter to the course director at the cookery school. In your letter

• describe what you enjoyed about the course
• say how much cooking you've done since the course
• suggest another cookery course you’d like the school to offer

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Sir,

I am happy that I completed my cookery course before a month ago. Here, I would like to write a feedback regarding my experience with the course. I thought that, As you are the course director at the cookery school so you like to hear how I felt with that course.

I enjoyed about it so many things, such as how to boil a vegetable, process of merination, dough preparation and about various spices. Also I learnt basic knowledge about role of spices in the food.

I have done many dishes during that course. For example, I cooked Mutton Biryani with Lassi, Rajma, Manchurian and Masala Dosa. Because of this course I felt my cooing skill improved so much.

I would like to suggest you is that school need to arrange one more course for the baking. Baking is also very popular skill in present time.

Thank you for your service.

Best wishes,

Mohammad

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address all three requested points: you describe learning about vegetables, dough and spices, mention dishes you have cooked, and suggest a baking course. The examples of dishes make the feedback relevant, and your positive view of the course is apparent. However, the second point is not fully answered: “I have done many dishes during that course” describes cooking during the course, rather than how much you have cooked since it ended. The suggestion is also brief and would be clearer if you explained what kind of baking course you would like. To strengthen the letter, state how often you have cooked since the course and develop your suggestion with a specific focus, such as bread or pastry-making.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: an opening, a paragraph about what you learned, one about cooking, and a final suggestion and sign-off. This makes the main points easy to locate. You also use examples and a linking phrase such as “Because of this course” to connect ideas. Some connections are less clear or feel mechanical, however. “I thought that, As you are the course director … so” combines ideas awkwardly, while “I enjoyed about it so many things” makes the opening of the course-feedback paragraph difficult to follow. Use simpler, direct links between ideas and make each paragraph focus on one task point. A clearer progression would help the reader understand your experience and request without having to interpret the connections.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “dough preparation,” “spices,” “Biryani,” and “Masala Dosa,” and the dish names add useful detail. Your range is sufficient to communicate the main ideas, but several noticeable word-choice, collocation and spelling problems make parts of the letter less natural. For example, “write a feedback” and “enjoyed about it” are not idiomatic, and “cooing skill” appears to be a misspelling of “cooking skill.” “Process of merination” is also unclear; the intended word may be “marination.” Aim to learn common phrases as complete units and check spelling carefully. More precise wording would make your positive evaluation and course suggestion clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, and the reader can generally understand your main message. However, the range is limited, and errors occur often enough to make some sentences awkward or unclear. For instance, “I am happy that I completed my cookery course before a month ago” has an incorrect time expression, while “I thought that, As you are … so you like to hear” has faulty sentence construction and punctuation. The suggestion “I would like to suggest you is that school need to arrange” also shows problems with clause structure and verb agreement. Practise forming direct sentences with accurate tense and agreement, such as “I completed the course a month ago” and “I suggest that the school offer a baking course.”

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

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