Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-02

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 7.5)

Dear Alex,

I hope you're doing well. I feel very happy to know that you're interested in learning a new sport. I think should try learning swimming. It is a fun and exciting sport, and you do not need to be extremely fit to start this activity. It is also a great way to stay physically fit and active. Moreover, swimming helps in reducing stress and relaxing the body.

You could start by joining beginner's lessons at the community centre. After learning the basic rules and techniques, you could practice regularly. Watching online videos could also help you improve your skills.

Why don't we learn swimming together? I am planning to start this sport from past few months. We could join beginner's batch next weekend and practice in the evenings. I think it would be much more enjoyable if we learned it together!

I hope you like the idea, write back and let me know what you think.

Best wishes,

Susana

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The response successfully addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly recommend swimming, explain how to learn it through community centre lessons and online resources, and propose learning together. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend, maintaining a friendly and informal register throughout. The ideas are well-developed and relevant, providing enough detail to satisfy the task requirements. The structure is logical, and the purpose of the email is clear from the beginning. To reach a higher band, you could expand slightly more on the benefits or the specific logistics of the lessons to add more depth to your suggestions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0

The email is well-organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the prompt, which makes the letter easy to follow. You use cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'After', and 'Why don't we' to link sentences and ideas effectively. The paragraphing is appropriate for an informal email, and the transition between the recommendation and the suggestion to join together is smooth. The overall flow is natural, and the use of referencing is clear throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'physically fit and active' and 'reducing stress' are used accurately. While the vocabulary is generally appropriate for the task, it is somewhat functional. To achieve a higher score, you could incorporate more precise or less common collocations. For example, instead of 'I feel very happy', you could use 'I was thrilled to hear'. The spelling is accurate throughout, and there are no instances where word choice impedes communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. Most sentences are error-free, and your control over punctuation is good. There are a few minor slips, such as 'I think should try' (missing subject 'you') and 'I am planning to start this sport from past few months' (should be 'for the past few months'). Despite these occasional errors, the meaning is never obscured. The use of modal verbs like 'could' and 'would' is handled well, showing a good grasp of the grammar required for making suggestions.

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

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