Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-23
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,
I am writing the letter to give my review on the cookery course, which I have completed last month. This course was very helpful for me, I have made many dishes after this course in various functions. I made the cake on my youngest brother birthday and also prepared the dinner in my home after complete the course.
I feel that now I can make various dishes. I loved the timing of this course, the course classes started after my lecture. Besides this, the fees was also affordable for me and I am sure it was also afforable for rest of students. Moreover, the way of teaching was very uniqe and easy, also the tutor teach from basic.
I am planning to take the addmission on the cooking competion of state level in next year. So I requested you to start advance level of cookery course and also start some different kinds of culture food training. This will help me lots in that competion. I will be waiting your noitce for new cookery course.
Your's sincerely,
Amit
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
You address all three points: you describe the course’s convenient timing, affordable fees and teaching approach; explain that you have cooked for family occasions; and request an advanced course with cultural-food training. These details make the letter relevant and give the director a clear sense of your experience. However, the amount of cooking since the course is only briefly illustrated by the cake and dinner examples, and the proposed courses are not clearly distinguished or explained. The purpose is clear, but some ideas would benefit from fuller development—for example, specify how often you have cooked and which cuisine or advanced skills you would like to study. The opening and closing are appropriate for a formal letter.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The letter has a clear overall arrangement: it begins with its purpose, moves to your experience and positive feedback, and ends with a request for future courses. Paragraphing helps separate these functions, and linking expressions such as “Besides this” and “Moreover” show how your points relate. At times, however, the connections feel mechanical, and several ideas are crowded into the same paragraph. For instance, the first paragraph combines your general review with examples of cooking, while the next shifts between timing, fees and teaching without much development. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each example directly to the point it supports. This would make the progression smoother and reduce the sense of a list.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main points, including “affordable,” “various dishes,” “tutor” and “advanced level.” There are also attempts to express specific ideas about course timing and future study. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “give my review on,” “made the cake,” “take the addmission” and “waiting your notice.” Spelling errors—including “afforable,” “uniqe” and “competion”—also reduce the accuracy of the vocabulary. These issues do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, but they limit precision and naturalness. Practise common phrases for giving feedback and making requests, and check spelling carefully before submitting.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You use a mix of simple sentences and some longer structures, including a relative clause in “the course, which I have completed last month” and a reason introduced by “So.” The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors occur in verb forms, agreement and sentence construction. For example, “I have completed last month” combines the present perfect with a finished past-time expression; “after complete the course” needs a different verb form; and “the tutor teach” does not agree with its subject. The sentence joining “This course was very helpful for me” to “I have made many dishes” also needs clearer punctuation or a conjunction. Review past-tense forms, subject–verb agreement and infinitive or gerund patterns.
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