Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-23
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 5.5)
Dear John,
Its been so long since we last met, happy to hear that you shifted my my town. I m feeling myself great to advice for a new sport which you looking forward in these day.
I should recommend that consider the to learn the paly cricket because you like the out door games and having already interest in that sports by watching a lot of cricket games with me on TV. So it will be most suitable as the town having a cricket stadium and some sports clubs.
I should suggest you that visit to these cricket clubs and register yourself with any one of the club which you like most, I will suggest to chose Eagle club. That sport club will teach you first how to bat , bowl and fielding during the game in the stadium.
If you register yourself into my cricket club which is eagle club it will be very helpful for you to quickly learn about cricket skills as i m playing in that club since last one year.
cricket
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response covers all three bullet points: recommending a sport (cricket), explaining how to learn it (joining a club), and suggesting learning together. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. While the recommendation is clear, the explanation of how to learn is repetitive, focusing heavily on the registration process rather than the learning journey itself. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend, but the response lacks the depth required for a higher band score. The ideas are relevant but could be expanded with more detail about the benefits of the sport or the specific training process to better engage the reader.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The email is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite mechanical and sometimes inaccurate. For example, the transition 'So it will be most suitable' is a bit abrupt. There are also issues with referencing; the phrase 'these cricket clubs' appears before the clubs have been explicitly introduced in the text. While the overall progression of ideas is logical, the lack of varied linking words and the occasional awkward phrasing make the flow feel somewhat disjointed at times.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. There are several instances of awkward word choice, such as 'shifted my my town' (should be 'moved to my town') and 'feeling myself great to advice' (should be 'happy to give advice'). The student relies on basic vocabulary and struggles with collocations, such as 'having already interest' instead of 'already having an interest'. While the meaning is generally clear, the range is limited, and there are frequent errors in word formation and usage that prevent a higher score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a high frequency of grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('the town having'), incorrect verb tenses ('I m playing in that club since last one year'), and missing articles. Sentence structures are mostly simple, and attempts at more complex sentences often result in errors, such as 'I should suggest you that visit to these cricket clubs'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing commas and incorrect capitalization. While the message is understandable, the persistent errors in basic grammar and sentence construction significantly impact the quality of the writing.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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