Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-09
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 5.5)
Dear Rahul,
Last week you have asked about the new sport and I will recommend tennis because it is very popular in the country. Additionally, it is feasible for you because you had some training in school.
Firstly, there is a coach for special training and he absolutely guide you about how to improve the time management skills, communication skills and show you how to make yourself perfect through practise.
Secondly, I am coming for my summer vacations next month so if you do not mind then we can learn this together and it will be helpful to save our time. Furthermore, through this game you can get more opportunity in future to gain more money.
Thank You
Yours Faithfully
Kajal
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses all three bullet points: recommending tennis, explaining how to learn it, and suggesting learning together. However, the response is significantly under the 150-word minimum requirement, which negatively impacts the development of ideas. The suggestions are quite brief and lack the necessary detail to fully satisfy the task requirements. For instance, the explanation of how to learn the sport is vague, focusing on generic 'time management' and 'communication skills' rather than practical steps for a beginner. To improve, you must expand on your ideas with more specific details and examples to meet the length requirement and provide a more comprehensive response.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The letter is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You have used basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'Furthermore' to link your ideas. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the connection between the suggestion of learning together and the comment about 'gaining more money' is illogical and confusing. The overall progression of ideas is somewhat disjointed. To improve, ensure that your supporting sentences directly relate to the main point of the paragraph and use a wider variety of linking words to create a more natural flow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task but remains quite basic. You rely on simple phrasing such as 'make yourself perfect' and 'get more opportunity'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'gain more money', which is not natural in this context. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more precise and varied vocabulary. For example, instead of 'get more opportunity', you could use 'enhance your career prospects' or 'open up new avenues'. Expanding your range of collocations and using more sophisticated synonyms will significantly improve your lexical score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
There are several grammatical errors throughout the text. For example, 'Last week you have asked' should be 'Last week you asked' (past simple). 'He absolutely guide you' should be 'he will guide you' or 'he can guide you'. Additionally, 'I am coming for my summer vacations' is slightly unnatural; 'I will be on summer vacation' would be better. While you attempt some complex structures, they are often inaccurate. You need to focus on consistent verb tense usage and subject-verb agreement. Reviewing basic sentence construction and proofreading for small errors will help you achieve a higher score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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