Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Dear Samuel,

I hope you are doing well. It's been a long time we have'nt catched up. I am really surprised that you are interested in learning a new sport. I would love to guide you about this.

I'm thinking of joining a horse riding school. If you also love adventurous sports, we can join together. Joining together may help us to get membership discount. Since, we both are working day shifts, evening classes are suitable for us.

There is a well-known horse riding school in our town. They trained multiple national level players and have more than 100 horses. Recently, they launched a 60 days course for begineers at just $999. Later, we can also enroll in their advance course.

I am not forcing you to join with me. If you want to learn something else like soccor, cricket or rock-climbing, those options are also available in our town. I can share the detail of those sports shortly.

Let me know about your preference. I hope to hear from you soon.

Best regards,

Mark

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You recommended horse riding, explained how to learn it by mentioning the local school and the 60-day course, and suggested learning together. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend, and the purpose of the letter is clear throughout. The ideas are well-developed and relevant to the task requirements. To reach a higher band, ensure that all details provided are fully consistent; for example, you mention 'evening classes' but then specify a '60 days course' without explicitly linking the two, though this does not impede the overall clarity of your message.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The email is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the request, which helps the reader follow your ideas easily. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Since,' 'There is,' and 'If you want,' which help connect your sentences. However, some transitions are a bit mechanical, and the flow between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate for an informal letter, and the progression of ideas is logical and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, using terms like 'adventurous,' 'membership discount,' and 'national level players.' There are a few spelling errors, such as 'catched' (should be 'caught'), 'begineers' (beginners), and 'soccor' (soccer). While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede communication. To improve, try to incorporate more varied collocations and ensure accuracy in spelling common words. Your vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, but expanding your range of descriptive adjectives and adverbs would enhance the quality of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional sentences ('If you also love... we can join together'). However, there are several grammatical slips, including 'It's been a long time we have'nt catched up' (should be 'since we haven't caught up') and 'we both are working' (should be 'we are both working'). While these errors are present, they do not cause confusion for the reader. To achieve a higher band, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of verb tenses, particularly with present perfect constructions.

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

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