Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-30

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:

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ....................................,

 

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Dear Annie,

I hope this email finds you well. How is everyone doing these days?

I received you email yesterday and after finding that you have finally gained the courage to learn a new sport I was over the clouds.

You might recall Annie how we used to fight back in days to play basketball. I used motivate you to play we us, However you being you kept on denying as you feared what if while playing in order basket the goal you might stumble and hurt your pretty face. Oh! my god while even writing it I can't stop laughing as were unbelievable back then.

I would firmly suggest you start learning basketball as god have blessed you with a great height and you will come naturally to you when you start practising. In fact I can talk to coach John from my high school I heard he recently retired from school he can help you out in starting your new beginning. While writing a great idea just crossed my mind why don't you come to India during your summer break and we could enjoy learning basketball together, as I could start my career from where I left.

I know I'm being over excited with this whole new situation you can find that from my huge email.

Cheers,

Julie

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response7.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points of the task. You recommended basketball, explained how to learn it through Coach John, and suggested learning it together during a summer break. The tone is appropriate for an informal email to a friend. The ideas are well-developed and relevant, showing a clear personal connection to the topic. The response is fully focused on the prompt, and the purpose of the email is clear from the beginning to the end.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The email is logically organized with clear paragraphing. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, moving from the greeting and personal context to the recommendation and the final suggestion. You use some cohesive devices like 'In fact' and 'While writing', though some transitions are slightly informal or repetitive. The progression of ideas is smooth, and the relationship between the sentences is generally easy to follow, which is appropriate for the informal letter format.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary, such as 'gained the courage', 'firmly suggest', and 'practising'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'over the clouds' (the correct idiom is 'over the moon') and 'in order basket the goal' (which is unclear). While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the response from reaching the highest band. The vocabulary is sufficient for the task and conveys your meaning effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'I received you email' (your), 'god have blessed' (has), and 'we used to fight back in days to play' (awkward phrasing). Additionally, some punctuation is missing, particularly in complex sentences, which makes some parts slightly harder to read. While these errors are noticeable, they do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, and you show an ability to construct longer, more complex sentences.

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

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