Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-14

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 7.0)

Dear Patrick,

I hope you are doing well. The last time we discussed, you asked me for advice on what sport to learn during your leisure time. After carefully thinking about this, I remembered that I have always wanted to learn how to swim and that would be a very calm and relaxing activity to engage in.

I understand that you can play football, table tennis and you are a very fast runner, so I really think swimming is a basic life skill that you should consider acquiring.

At present, there is a community pool at the city center and they hold swimming classes. I went there to make inquires and was given a leaflet that tells you the days of the week their classes hold and what it would cost. I will attach the leaflet to this letter for better understanding.

I really think it would be a go idea for us to do this together so that we can participate in the swimming competition the next time we vacation in the Maldives eventhough we are bound to lose, I bet it will be fun.

I really hope you consider this.

Best wishes,

Pamela.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You recommended swimming, explained how to learn it by mentioning the community pool and the leaflet, and suggested learning together. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, maintaining a friendly and informal register throughout. The ideas are well-developed and relevant to the task. To reach a higher band, ensure that your explanation of 'how' to learn is slightly more detailed; for instance, you could have mentioned the frequency of the classes or the duration of the course to provide more substance to your advice.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The email is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task, which helps the reader follow your train of thought easily. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'At present' and 'so I really think' to link your sentences. However, the transition between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother. To improve, try using a wider variety of linking words or phrases to connect your ideas more fluidly, as some of your current transitions are quite simple and repetitive.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task. Phrases like 'basic life skill' and 'participate in the swimming competition' are used correctly. There are some minor errors, such as 'go idea' instead of 'good idea' and 'inquires' instead of 'inquiries'. While these do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more careful proofreading. To achieve a higher band, try to incorporate more descriptive adjectives or less common collocations to make your writing more engaging and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. For example, the use of 'even though' in the final paragraph shows an attempt at a complex sentence. There are a few grammatical slips, such as 'classes hold' (should be 'are held') and the run-on sentence structure in the final paragraph regarding the Maldives trip. Despite these minor errors, your meaning is always clear, and the grammar does not interfere with the reader's understanding. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and punctuation will help you move into the higher bands.

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

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