Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-08

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 Seema,

Hope you are doing well!

I got to know about your football interest from facebook. I'm happy about you. It rejuvenate you as it helps in reducing stress and keeps body fit. I want you to never quit this sport. You can pursue this as your career due to your active body.

You can play this at your nearest playground, very good players came there to play in the evening, Some of them are playing at state level. It helps in boosting your sports career as new connectins can be made there.

I'm also joing there group from next week as my office timings are changing. I want you to join the group with me.

I want to meet you this weekend so that we can discuss more about this.

Looking forward for your response.

Yours Loving

Savita

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all three bullet points: recommending a sport, explaining how to learn it, and suggesting learning together. However, the response is under the 150-word minimum requirement, which negatively impacts the task achievement score. While the ideas are relevant, they are somewhat underdeveloped. For instance, the suggestion to 'pursue this as your career' is a bit abrupt and lacks context. To improve, you should expand on your ideas to ensure the response is sufficiently detailed and meets the length requirement, which would allow for a more natural flow of information.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The email is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat limited and occasionally mechanical. For example, the transition between the benefits of football and the suggestion to play at the local park could be smoother. Some sentences feel disjointed, such as 'I'm also joing there group from next week'. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring that referencing (e.g., 'there group' instead of 'their group') is accurate will help improve the flow and logical progression of your ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the range and precision expected at higher bands. There are some noticeable errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'joing' instead of 'joining' and 'connectins' instead of 'connections'. Additionally, the phrase 'I'm happy about you' is unnatural in this context. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and ensure your spelling is accurate. Expanding your vocabulary to include more descriptive adjectives and varied verbs would also enhance the quality of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'very good players came there' (should be 'come there'), 'joing there group' (should be 'joining their group'), and 'Looking forward for your response' (should be 'to your response'). These errors in verb tense, pronoun usage, and prepositional phrases are noticeable. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage. Proofreading your work for these common errors will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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