Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-11
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,
Subject: Giving feedback to school for a short cookery course.
I am writing this letter as a feedback of a short cookery course I recently completed in your school. Seriously, I enjoyed the whole course but especially while practicals time when everyone compete each others. Further, this course plays very significance role in my career. I got the job of cook in a Indian resturant just after finishing the course and I am earning really well while working 6 days per week. Overall, this course give me a new direction to become successfull in life.
In addition, I would like you to offer me an another cookery course for Italian cuisine to learn some extra ordinary in my cooking. This can help me to take my career at next level.
I am looking forward towards your possitive respone. Thank you so much.
your faithfully,
Sukhbir.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all three bullet points from the prompt: you described what you enjoyed ("especially while practicals time when everyone compete each others"), mentioned how much cooking you have done since finishing ("got the job of cook in a Indian resturant"), and suggested another course ("an another cookery course for Italian cuisine"). However, the response falls short of the 150-word minimum by one word (containing 149 words), which impacts Task Achievement under the strict length penalty rules. Furthermore, some ideas like career progression are slightly underdeveloped. Therefore, a band score of 5.5 is appropriate for this criterion, reflecting partial yet largely relevant task coverage coupled with the length penalty.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The letter exhibits a basic logical organisation with a clear beginning and ending. You used some cohesive devices and transitions such as 'Further', 'Overall', and 'In addition' to link paragraphs and ideas together. However, paragraphing is somewhat fragmented, with several very short paragraphs that limit the overall progression and flow of the letter. Referencing is occasionally weak, such as 'an another cookery course' containing a redundant article. Overall arrangement is coherent enough to be easily understood, matching the requirements for a band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing you to successfully convey your message about completing a cookery course and getting a job. You attempted some less common vocabulary such as 'significance role' (intended as significant) and 'extra ordinary'. However, there are noticeable word-choice and collocation errors, such as 'feedback of' instead of 'feedback on', and spelling errors like 'resturant', 'successfull', and 'possitive'. These errors demonstrate a limited control of word formation and spelling, placing your lexical score at a band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
You demonstrated a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as the relative clause in 'a short cookery course I recently completed' and conditional/time clauses in 'just after finishing the course'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including tense and word-class issues ('this course give me' instead of gave, 'while practicals time when everyone compete each others'), missing prepositions, and article misuse ('an another'). These errors can cause slight strain for the reader, though they do not completely impede overall communication, which aligns well with a band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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