Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-12
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 Maninder,
Hello, how're you? I'm writing to suggest a sport which is quite easy to play and helpful for keeping fit.
As you're tall and active, basketball might be a suitable sport for you to add in your hobbies. This sport doesn't require a proper playground, It requires dedication to learn, and you are already excited to play a new sport. Additionally, you have played volleyball in high school which makes basketball easier for you.
It's very easy to play, you don't need to know tips and techniques. All you need is practice at your home or at a nearby basketball court. You can also watch some basketball matches live on T.V or on YouTube to look for the hand movements, how professional players throw a ball straight in the ring. What about going to the stadium together for watching a live match?
Let's do one thing, we can learn Basketball together. I know a place where we can play a match and practice. After learning a few moves, we may join a sports club to improve our skills. Let me know what you think about it.
I look forward to hearing back from you.
With love,
Dharmveer.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0
The response successfully covers all bullet points required in the task instructions. You clearly recommended basketball in the second paragraph, stating that "basketball might be a suitable sport for you." You explained how your friend could learn this sport by suggesting practice at home or at a court, watching matches on TV or YouTube, and joining a sports club later on. Finally, you successfully suggested that you both learn the sport together, writing "we can learn Basketball together." All parts of the task are well-addressed with clear, relevant ideas appropriate for a General Training Task 1 email. Therefore, this fulfills the Band 7 requirements for Task Achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The letter is coherent with a clear overall arrangement and appropriate paragraphing for an informal email. There is a logical progression from greeting, suggesting the sport, explaining how to learn it, proposing to learn together, and signing off. Cohesive devices such as "Additionally," and "After learning a few moves," are used, although referencing is occasionally slightly repetitive or mechanical. Paragraphs are well-managed, dividing each prompt requirement into its own logical section. This performance aligns well with a Band 6.5 to 7.0 descriptor, leaning solidly into a Band 7 due to the clear logical organisation throughout.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The vocabulary used is adequate and generally appropriate for the task. You make good attempts at less common phrasing such as "require a proper playground" and "hand movements". However, there are minor word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as saying "add in your hobbies" instead of "add to your hobbies" and "for watching a live match" instead of "to watch a live match". Spelling is generally accurate, and communication is never impeded. These characteristics place your lexical resource securely at Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and relative-style structures ("As you're tall and active, basketball might be a suitable sport..."). There are some grammatical errors and punctuation slips, such as the comma splice in "This sport doesn't require a proper playground, It requires dedication..." and the preposition error in "throw a ball straight in the ring" (instead of 'into'). However, these errors are relatively minor and rarely impede communication, fitting the Band 6 descriptor nicely.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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