Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-07-24
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
Your English-speaking friend who lives in your town has asked for your advice about learning a new sport. Write an email to your friend. In your email:
- recommend a new sport that would be suitable for your friend to learn
- explain how your friend could learn this sport
- suggest that you both learn this sport together
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear ....................................,
Student answer (Band 7.5)
Dear John,
I am glad to hear that you have finally decided to move on from your old indoor games to learn a new sport. I can definitely help you with choosing the right game. Not sure if you have heard of this or not but our city of Peterborough has its own national sport, which is Kayaking. Kayaking is widely popular among the residents. Peterborough is home to Canada's only Kayak museum and longest running kayak festival. Furthermore, every summer City of Peterborough organizes annual Kayak racing on Del Crary. As far as I know, learning Kayak is not difficult, 2 or 3 lessons will be enough to start with. You can find Kayak instructors on Del Crary as well as on the Beavermade beach.
Moving ahead, I am now feeling like I should join you. I believe it would be a great idea, let's join together and learn how to kayak. Once we are good enough to balance our kayaks, we can definitely think of participating in up coming boat racing competition, which will be in the month of August.
Let me know if this works for you.
Regards,
Navdeep
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 8.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 7.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 7.5 |
| Overall | 7.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0
The response successfully addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly recommend kayaking, explain how to learn it by mentioning lessons and specific locations, and propose learning together. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend, maintaining a consistent and friendly register throughout. The ideas are well-developed and relevant to the context of Peterborough. To reach a higher band, you could provide slightly more descriptive detail regarding the 'how to learn' aspect, perhaps by mentioning the equipment needed or the nature of the lessons, which would further extend the response and demonstrate a more comprehensive approach to the task.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5
The email is logically organized with clear paragraphing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the prompt, which helps the reader follow your ideas easily. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore' and 'Once we are', which help to link your sentences. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words to connect your thoughts more fluidly. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear, and the structure is appropriate for a semi-formal or informal letter.
Lexical Resource — Band 7.5
You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary suitable for the task, such as 'residents', 'participating', and 'annual'. The language is natural and fits the context well. There are a few minor issues with word choice, such as 'learning Kayak' (should be 'learning to kayak' or 'learning kayaking') and 'City of Peterborough organizes' (should be 'the City of Peterborough'). While you use some specific terminology related to the sport, incorporating a few more sophisticated collocations or idiomatic expressions would enhance the lexical variety and help you achieve a higher score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. Most of your sentences are clear and error-free, which makes the text easy to read. There are some minor grammatical slips, such as the missing article in 'learning Kayak' and 'on Del Crary' (which should likely be 'at Del Crary' or 'on the Del Crary waterfront'). Additionally, 'up coming' should be written as one word ('upcoming'). Despite these occasional errors, your control over grammar is strong, and the meaning is never obscured. You show a good grasp of punctuation and sentence construction.
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