Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-22

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 ma'am,

I hope this letter finds you well sign of exclamation it's been pleasure to be a part of the cookery course. I meet the greatest people during that six month. I would like to write you a little feedback of my recent course I did with you.

Firstly, I really got indulged with everyone so easily. It was a group of 10 students who came all different part of Canada. I made the terrific memories with them. The environment and the people made those six months so special that with the learning I also gained a new family that I'm still in touch with them.

however, after I completed the course I kept on learning new cuisines and I got placement at Hotel beniant which is two hours drive from my city They hire me as a head chef there it's been us almost two months now They really like my work since I heard as a casual there first but then they seen my work and offered me full time spot over the time.if I give you a rough idea about how many dishes I served I would say about 75 different cuisines And they all liked by our guests .

thanks again that you accept me as a student I learned a lot from you If I would give you a suggestion for another cookery course for the school It should be a diet specific dishes since a lot of people are allergic with gluten lactose and peanuts and so on Student would would get a great help with making decline oriented dishes .

that's all about the feedback I'd like to present I hope I will see you soon as I am planning to visit school next month for catching up with all .

regards,

Nidhi.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The candidate successfully covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. First, they describe what was enjoyed about the course, mentioning the group environment and making terrific memories. Second, they state how much cooking has been done since the course, detailing their employment as a head chef and estimating that they have served about 75 different cuisines. Third, they suggest another cookery course for the school, specifically proposing diet-specific dishes focusing on allergies like gluten, lactose, and peanuts. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a course director. However, there are minor areas of under-development in terms of task focus, but overall the requirements are adequately met, placing this response comfortably at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is arranged into distinct paragraphs, showing an attempt at a logical structure from the opening greeting through the details of the course, subsequent employment, suggestions, and closing remarks. However, paragraphing is somewhat irregular and ideas within paragraphs sometimes jump abruptly, such as moving from course memories directly into job placement details with "however, after I completed the course...". Cohesive devices are occasionally faulty, mechanical, or mismanaged (e.g., lowercase "however," punctuation errors like missing periods or commas). Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as pronoun shifts. Overall coherence is maintained well enough to make the letter understandable, aligning with the criteria for Band 5.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The candidate demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as "placement," "head chef," and "diet specific dishes." However, there are noticeable word-choice and collocation errors, such as "got indulged with everyone," "heard as a casual there first," and "decline oriented dishes" (likely meaning diet-oriented). Spelling errors also occur, such as "beniant" and literal transcriptions included by mistake like "sign of exclamation." While these errors are noticeable, communication is not severely impeded, as the general meaning remains clear. This reflects the characteristics of a Band 5.5 lexical resource.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional structures ("if I give you a rough idea...") and relative clauses. However, control over grammar and punctuation is weak. There are frequent punctuation errors, run-on sentences, missing capitalisation at the start of sentences, and missing terminal punctuation. Grammatical errors include tense inconsistencies and incorrect verb forms, such as "they seen my work," "you accept me," and "a lot of people are allergic with gluten." These frequent errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, placing the grammar performance at a Band 5.0 level.

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

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