Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-19

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 4.5)

Task-1

Dear Mr and Mrs Collins,

I hope you are doing well, thank you for the invitation to Chris's birthday party. I am glad that you thought of me on this special occassion. I have known chris since kindergarten, and well aware of his excitement for birthday parties. I believe chris would be thrilled with your surprise.

Unfortunately, I would not be able to attend this occassion as I am attending my sister's graduation in new-york on the same day. Given the current situation, I would make a video for chris which can be display on the day of his birthday.

However, I am planning to come meet chris on holidays. I remember going to each other's home every christmas for gift giving and christmas eve dinner. Chris will be on cloud nine when he sees me there for holidays.

Again, thank you for your invitation, hoping to see you guyz soon.

Regards,

Mahima.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 1.0

The response is completely off-topic. The prompt explicitly asked for a letter to a cookery school director regarding a cookery course, but the student wrote a letter to friends (Mr. and Mrs. Collins) about a birthday party invitation. Because the student failed to address any of the bullet points (the cookery course experience, cooking frequency, or course suggestions), the task achievement is severely compromised. Even though the length requirement was met, the content does not fulfill the requirements of the task instructions provided.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is logically organized into paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas within the context of the birthday party theme. The use of cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Again', and 'Unfortunately' is appropriate and helps the flow of the text. While the content is irrelevant to the prompt, the structure itself is coherent, with clear paragraphing and logical transitions between the apology for absence and the alternative plan to meet later.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for a personal letter, though it lacks the formal tone required for a business communication with a course director. There are some spelling errors, such as 'occassion' (occasion) and 'new-york' (New York), and the use of 'guyz' is too informal for an IELTS task. The range of vocabulary is limited but sufficient to convey the intended message about the birthday party, though it does not demonstrate the range required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'I would not be able to attend' (should be 'will not be able to') and 'which can be display' (should be 'displayed'). Punctuation is inconsistent, particularly with the capitalization of proper nouns like 'chris' and 'christmas'. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of errors in tense usage and basic mechanics prevents a higher score.

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

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