Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-12

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 7.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I hope you are doing well. As you are aware, recently, I have completed the "Science behind cooking" course at Purdue. I am writing this letter to share my experience. Firstly, I enjoyed the scientific aspect of this course, especially where professor Hussein introduced how starchy substances such as a potato reacts at different oil temperatures. It was also wonderful to see how traditional methods of boiling pasta with salt can be backed by science.

Since the day I finished the course, I have been mimicking many recipes that I learned throughout the semester. Especially, professor Hussein's unique way to cook the perfect scrambled egg has become a favorite among my roommates.

With the success of this cooking course, I would like to suggest a cooking course, designed to cater to students and working adults. Cooking with my fellow classmates, I found out there is a huge demand for cheap and healthy meals. A course that covers unique ways to cook pasta with leftover vegetables or recipes to improve instant ramen noodles can help meet this gap. I would be grateful if you could look into introducing a similar course.

Yours faithfully,

Mihir

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The candidate has successfully addressed all three bullet points of the task prompt in a clear and appropriate manner. The letter begins with a suitable salutation and covers what was enjoyed about the course, specifically mentioning the scientific aspects and Professor Hussein's demonstrations. It then details the cooking done since finishing the course, noting how recipes like scrambled eggs have been replicated. Finally, a clear and logical suggestion for a future course focusing on cheap and healthy meals for students and working adults is proposed. The tone is consistently appropriate for a general training letter, and the purpose is communicated effectively from start to finish. All requirements of the prompt are fully satisfied.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0

The letter exhibits a clear and logical progression of ideas, with each paragraph mapping directly to one of the bullet points in the instructions. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the introduction, the discussion of the course content, the subsequent cooking habits, and the course suggestion. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'It was also wonderful', 'Since the day I finished', and 'With the success of this cooking course' are employed naturally to guide the reader through the text. Referencing is clear throughout, and the overall structure feels cohesive and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient and generally precise range of vocabulary suitable for a general correspondence task. Words and phrases like 'scientific aspect', 'starchy substances', 'mimicking many recipes', and 'cater to students' show good lexical control. There are occasional slight awkwardness in word choice, such as 'mimicking many recipes' where 'recreating' might sound more natural, but these do not impede communication. Spelling and word formation are accurate throughout the piece, contributing to a smooth reading experience.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The response features a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and conditional-like or prepositional phrases such as 'especially where professor Hussein introduced how starchy substances such as a potato reacts at different oil temperatures'. Grammatical control is generally strong with a high proportion of error-free sentences. There is a minor subject-verb agreement slip ('substances such as a potato reacts' should be 'react'), but overall, punctuation and grammar are handled well and do not interfere with the clarity of the message.

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