Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-13
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 Hannah
How are you? I hope you are doing well. I'm glad you asked me for advice about learning a new sport. I would like to recommend football. it is a great sport and is played by ten players with a goalkeeper. I understand that you need a sport that is competitive and probably the opportunity for you to play at national and international level.
Hannah, learning football is not a difficult task, practice session is done every Sunday by 3:00pm. In addition, tryout is scheduled every Monday morning for new players which will enable them to choose a team.
I would like to suggest we go to their tryout next week in order for us to join the team. Furthermore, I heard the coach is a disciplined man and does not tolerate failure. I believe we can make it and I would glad to hear from you.
Best wishes
Ella
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The response addresses all three bullet points of the prompt: recommending a sport, explaining how to learn it, and suggesting learning it together. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For example, the explanation of how to learn football focuses on scheduling rather than the process of learning the skills. The mention of playing at a 'national and international level' feels slightly incongruous with the casual context of a friend asking for advice on learning a new sport. Overall, the task is fulfilled, but the ideas could be expanded with more personal detail or specific advice to reach a higher band.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The email is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each addressing a specific part of the prompt. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. Cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'Furthermore', and 'In order for us to' are used to link sentences and ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally a bit repetitive. The paragraphing is appropriate for the task type, and the opening and closing salutations are correctly placed. The overall structure is coherent, though the flow between sentences could be made more natural with a wider variety of linking words.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task and allows the message to be conveyed clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'disciplined' and 'competitive', which are used correctly. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are minor issues with word choice, such as 'practice session is done' (should be 'held') and 'tryout is scheduled' (should be 'tryouts are scheduled'). The language is functional and appropriate for a semi-formal/informal email, but it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. Expanding the range of collocations would improve the quality of the writing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'it is a great sport and is played by ten players' (should be 'eleven'), 'I would glad to hear' (should be 'I would be glad'), and issues with subject-verb agreement like 'practice session is done'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, though there are some minor errors in capitalization and sentence boundaries. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Increasing the variety of complex structures and ensuring subject-verb agreement would enhance the grammatical accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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