Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-10

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 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to give my opinion about the cooking course that I completed at your school recently.

The main highlight of this program for me was its flexibility. Attending a course with a full-time job is next to impossible, but your school has made it possible with its multiple batches in a day.

After the course I have became a self-sufficient in term of cooking my own meals whenever it is possible. Before I had to order online food that was expensive as well as unhealthy. Now I not only cook for myself but friends also count on me for having homemade meals.

It would be grateful if a course that teaches how to cook low calorie food. The food items that are currently being taught are oily and spicy which make them unfit while maintaining a lean body. Thank you for the valuable skills and it was a great experience.

Yours sincerely,

Jason Smith

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You described the flexibility of the course, explained your current cooking habits, and provided a clear suggestion for a new course. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a course director. To reach a higher band, ensure that your ideas are slightly more developed; for instance, when mentioning that friends count on you for meals, you could briefly describe a specific dish you have mastered to add more depth to your response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with clear paragraphing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific requirement of the task, which makes the letter easy to follow. You use some cohesive devices like 'After the course' and 'Now', though the transition between the second and third paragraph could be smoother. The use of 'It would be grateful if' is a grammatical error that slightly disrupts the flow, but overall, the progression of ideas is clear and the letter maintains a consistent tone throughout.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task. Phrases like 'next to impossible', 'self-sufficient', and 'valuable skills' are used effectively. However, there are some minor inaccuracies, such as 'order online food' (should be 'order food online') and 'unfit while maintaining' (which is slightly awkward phrasing). To improve, try to use more precise collocations. Your vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, but it lacks the sophistication required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are several grammatical errors that persist. For example, 'I have became' should be 'I have become', and 'It would be grateful if' is incorrect; it should be 'I would be grateful if'. Additionally, 'unfit while maintaining' lacks a clear subject or proper prepositional usage. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and consistent verb tense usage.

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

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