Band 8.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 8.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-22

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 8.0)

I am writing down this letter to reommend my friend to learn a new sport. I think Swimming is very famous and intersting game so i decide to learn this game as soon as possible.

I hope this email finds you well. I heard that you are keen on taking up a new sport, and I have the perfect recommendation for you. Considering your desire to improve your overall health and fitness, I would suggest taking up swimming. It’s a low-impact sport that is suitable for all body types and fitness levels.

Learning to swim can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience. There are several swimming pools in our town that offer beginner classes with qualified instructors. These classes will provide you with the fundamental skills and techniques needed to become a proficient swimmer.

Furthermore, I would like to propose that we learn this sport together. It would be a great way for us to stay active while also spending quality time together. We could set regular days to go for swimming practice, and motivate each other to improve our swimming abilities.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this suggestion. Let’s discuss the possibility of embarking on this new fitness journey together.

Best wishes,

Tony

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You recommended swimming, explained how to learn it through local classes, and proposed learning together. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend, being both friendly and encouraging. The opening paragraph contains a slight redundancy where you mention your intent to write, but the subsequent paragraphs are well-developed and directly relevant to the task requirements. The ideas are extended logically, providing a clear and helpful response to your friend's request for advice.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0

The email is well-structured with a logical progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task, which makes the letter easy to follow. You have used a range of cohesive devices effectively, such as 'Furthermore', 'Considering', and 'It would be', which help to link your sentences and paragraphs smoothly. The use of paragraphing is appropriate, and the overall flow of the letter is natural. There is a clear sense of organization throughout the response, and referencing is consistent and accurate.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.5

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary that is appropriate for the context of an informal email. Phrases like 'low-impact sport', 'proficient swimmer', and 'embarking on this new fitness journey' show a good command of language. While there is a minor spelling error in the introductory sentence ('reommend'), the rest of the text is accurate. You use vocabulary with sufficient flexibility to convey your ideas clearly and naturally. The choice of words is generally precise and fits the tone of the letter well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 8.0

You use a variety of complex sentence structures, such as conditional clauses and relative clauses, with a high degree of accuracy. Most of your sentences are error-free, and your control over punctuation is strong. There is a minor slip in the first paragraph ('I am writing down this letter to reommend my friend...'), but this does not impede communication. The majority of the text is grammatically sound, showing a good grasp of tense usage and sentence construction. Your ability to maintain grammatical control throughout the email is impressive.

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

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