Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-07-28

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 6.0)

Dear Sir or Madam

I am writing to formally request a leave of absence from work for a period of six weeks, starting from November 15, 2023. The reason for this leave is a short cookery course. My close family member, my mother, has been diagnosed with a severe medical condition, and her treatment and recovery will require my full attentionand presence during this critical time.During my absence, I am committed to ensuring a smooth transition for the team. To stay updated, I will check my work email regularly and be available for critical matters. I also propose delegating my ongoing tasks to a capable colleague or team member, and I am more than willing to work closely with them to provide necessary guidance and training. Not only this, I will also prepare detailed documentation of mycurrent projects and responsibilities for easy reference. To address my responsibilities during my leave, I suggest that Ms. Sarah Mitchell, who has a good understanding of our current projects, be appointed as the point person in my absence. I would be happy to facilitate this transition by sharing my knowledge with her before my leave begins.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response is completely off-topic. The prompt asks for feedback on a cookery course, including what was enjoyed, how much cooking has been done since, and a suggestion for a new course. Instead, the student has written a formal letter requesting a leave of absence from work due to a family medical emergency. Because the response fails to address any of the bullet points or the core purpose of the task, it does not meet the requirements of the prompt. In an actual IELTS examination, this would be considered a memorized or irrelevant response, resulting in a very low score for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

While the letter is internally coherent in its own context—it follows a logical structure for a leave request—it is entirely disconnected from the task instructions. The paragraphing is non-existent, as the entire response is presented as a single block of text. There is no logical progression related to the actual task requirements, and the cohesive devices used (e.g., 'Not only this', 'To address my responsibilities') serve a purpose that is irrelevant to the prompt provided.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is formal and appropriate for a professional leave request letter, showing a range of business-related terminology such as 'formally request', 'delegating', 'facilitate this transition', and 'detailed documentation'. However, because the vocabulary is entirely unrelated to the topic of a cookery course, it cannot be credited for addressing the task. The student demonstrates a good command of English, but it is misapplied to the wrong subject matter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The grammatical control is relatively strong, featuring a mix of complex sentence structures and accurate use of subordinate clauses. Examples include 'My close family member, my mother, has been diagnosed with a severe medical condition' and 'I am committed to ensuring a smooth transition for the team.' There are very few grammatical errors, and the punctuation is generally correct. The score reflects the student's ability to construct complex, error-free sentences, even though the content is entirely irrelevant to the task.

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