Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-12

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 6.5)

Dear Sam,

I hope you are doing well. I am glad to know that you are interested in learning a new sport. I would recommend badminton because it enjoyable, easy to learn and suitable for different types of fitness levels.

You could start by joining local badminton club and taking lesson from professional coaches. Moreover, you can watch online tutorials to learn basic skills and rules. After learning basic practice, regular practice will help you improve your skills and confidence.

Why we don't learn badminton together. I am also interested to learn badminton because recently there is World badminton championship going on and I am following very closely. Since then I have decided to learn this sport. We could join same club and also practice twice a week. I believe it would be more enjoyable and we can motivate each other.

Let me know what you think. I hope we will meet soon.

Yours lovingly,

Darshit

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You recommended badminton, explained how to learn it through clubs and online tutorials, and proposed learning it together. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, and the purpose of the email is clear throughout. To reach a higher band, you could expand slightly more on the 'how to learn' section by providing more specific details or personal advice, which would help in developing your ideas more fully. Overall, you have fulfilled the requirements of the task effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

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 like 'Moreover' and 'Since then' to link your sentences. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words. For example, the transition between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother to create a more natural progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, using terms like 'professional coaches', 'online tutorials', and 'motivate each other'. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your message clearly, it is somewhat basic. To improve, try to incorporate more precise or descriptive language. For instance, instead of saying 'learning basic practice', you could use 'mastering the fundamentals'. There are no significant spelling errors, and your word choices are generally accurate and appropriate for the informal context of an email to a friend.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'I am glad to know that you are interested in learning a new sport.' There are a few grammatical slips, such as 'Why we don't learn' (should be 'Why don't we learn') and 'joining local badminton club' (missing an article: 'a local badminton club'). Additionally, 'I am also interested to learn' is better phrased as 'I am also interested in learning'. Despite these errors, your meaning is always clear, and the mistakes do not impede communication.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.