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,

I am delighted to share my feedback about the cookery course that i studied in your school. it was such a wonderful and knowledgeable experience for me.

To be honest, i learnt an excellent cooking skill that I did not have before. one of the most enjoyable parts for me was making mistakes and learn from them. I enjoyed support from my mentor and classmates. I tried to make number of dishes successfully. Certainly, i never do the much cooking in my life as i cooked over here. I am glad to say that i was the part of this course. Still, i want to learn about global food like how to make different countries food. I hope you would provide this chance by offering another cookery course.

Your regards

Rampy

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses all three bullet points: describing the enjoyment of the course, mentioning post-course cooking habits, and suggesting a new course. However, the ideas are underdeveloped and lack sufficient detail to fully satisfy the task requirements. Furthermore, the response is 133 words long, failing to meet the 150-word minimum requirement. This significantly impacts the task achievement score, as the instructions were not fully followed in terms of length and depth of content.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into a single block of text rather than distinct paragraphs, which hinders the logical flow of ideas. While there is a basic attempt to sequence the information, the lack of paragraphing makes the letter feel disjointed. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes used incorrectly, such as the abrupt transition in 'Still, i want to learn...'. To improve, you should use clear paragraph breaks for each bullet point and employ a wider range of linking words to connect your ideas more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally simple and repetitive. Phrases like 'wonderful and knowledgeable experience' and 'excellent cooking skill' are functional but lack the precision expected at higher bands. There are also issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'never do the much cooking' and 'different countries food'. To improve, you should aim to use more specific terminology related to cooking and ensure your word choices are grammatically accurate and natural in a formal context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including consistent failure to capitalize the pronoun 'I', incorrect verb tenses ('i never do the much cooking'), and missing articles. The sentence structures are mostly simple, with limited attempts at complex sentences. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of commas and capitalization. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of basic errors limits the score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and basic sentence mechanics will help improve your accuracy.

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

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