Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-16

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,

I hope you are doing well. I wanted to kindly inform you that it was a great experience me enjoying the cookery course, though it was short, but I learnt many things from the course and the course was design in such a way that it made me learn cooking from scarch. Since the course, made me cook a lot of cooking which involed making of different cusines which are famous, making different backery items and many more. Additionally, I found many difficultes or challenges in making different dishes but the teachers or the chiefs were very co-operative to help me.

I would like to give some suggestions for any another cookery course that can help us to learn more about cooking, the course can now focus more on advance level of cooking skills and more diversed types of cooking styles from other parts of the country.

Lastly, I would realy appericate in considering my feedback and you will also see towards my suggestion.

Kind regards

Rajiv Bhatia

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three requested points: you describe enjoying the course and receiving help from the teachers, mention cooking several kinds of dishes since it ended, and suggest a more advanced course covering varied styles. These ideas are relevant and the reader can understand your overall feedback. However, some parts are less fully developed than others. For example, “a lot of cooking” is followed by examples, but you do not explain how often you have cooked or give a specific dish you made. Your proposed course is also quite broad; naming a particular cuisine or skill would make the suggestion more useful. The letter’s purpose is clear, but a little more specific support would strengthen it.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a generally clear arrangement: you first discuss the course and your cooking afterwards, then make a suggestion, and finish with a closing. Paragraphing helps distinguish the main topics, and transitions such as “Additionally” and “Lastly” guide the reader. At times, however, the connections between ideas are awkward or repetitive. The opening sentence combines several points with “though” and “but,” making the progression less smooth, while “Since the course, made me cook…” does not clearly connect the course to your subsequent practice. The final sentence also refers vaguely to “my feedback” and “my suggestion.” Use clearer links and more precise references to make the letter flow naturally.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “cookery course,” “cooking skills,” “cuisines,” and “bakery items,” and your meaning is generally recoverable. However, the range and control are limited by repeated general words such as “course,” “cooking,” and “different,” as well as several inaccurate or misspelled choices: “scarch,” “involed,” “cusines,” “backery,” and “appericate.” Some phrases are also unnatural, including “making of different cuisines” and “teachers or the chiefs.” Choose more precise collocations and check spelling carefully. For instance, you could describe preparing “regional dishes” or “baked goods,” and refer to the instructors as “chefs.” This would make your feedback clearer and more polished.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, such as the sentence beginning “though it was short,” and most of the message remains understandable. However, some sentence structures and verb forms are inaccurate, which makes parts of the letter difficult to follow. In “it was a great experience me enjoying the cookery course,” the clause needs a grammatical subject and structure, such as “I greatly enjoyed the course.” The sentence “Since the course, made me cook…” is also incomplete, and “the course was design” needs a passive verb form. There are also problems with agreement and sentence construction in “you will also see towards my suggestion.” Aim for complete clauses and check verb forms, especially when joining ideas with conjunctions.

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

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