Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-26

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 or Madam,

I hope you are in good spirits. I am writing my feedback about a course that I finished recently from your school. I am really glad that I have an chance to shear my thoughts with school.

I learned many things from this school first of all presentation. How we can present our food front of other people and the big thing was that I never ever did cooking before my course started but now I am a professional cook at a restaurant I learned many dishes but i like to cook rosted goat that Mr Kin thought me. During my school time I made more than 100 dishes and all were amazing because of school staff and the way school tech us. Only my few dishes were not good that I attempt to make while my first class that was holirious. my seggetion is school start some online course as well as I would like to learn some new dishes and I am living far from school and it will really help to other students too.

Thank you very much. for taking time to consider my feedback. I sincerely appreciate you and yours whole team.

Yours faithfully,

Kran.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points: describing what was enjoyed, stating the amount of cooking done since the course, and suggesting a new course. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the description of the course is quite brief, and the suggestion for an online course is presented in a very simple manner. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your ideas with more detail and specific examples. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter, although some phrasing is slightly informal or awkward, such as 'I hope you are in good spirits'.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite limited and sometimes mechanical. There is a lack of variety in linking words, and some sentences feel disjointed, particularly in the second paragraph where ideas about presentation, professional cooking, and specific dishes are crowded together. Improving the flow between sentences using a wider range of transition signals (e.g., 'furthermore', 'consequently', 'in addition to this') would significantly improve the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several spelling errors (e.g., 'shear' instead of 'share', 'rosted' instead of 'roasted', 'tech' instead of 'taught', 'holirious' instead of 'hilarious', 'seggetion' instead of 'suggestion') which occasionally impede readability. The range of vocabulary is somewhat basic, relying on simple descriptors. To improve, you should focus on using more precise terminology related to cooking and professional feedback, and ensure you proofread your work to eliminate basic spelling mistakes that distract from your message.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Issues include incorrect verb tenses (e.g., 'I have an chance'), subject-verb agreement, and missing articles. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with several run-on sentences and incorrect capitalization. While the meaning is generally clear, these persistent errors demonstrate a lack of control over complex structures. Focusing on basic sentence construction and ensuring subject-verb agreement will help you achieve a higher score in this criterion.

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

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