Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-19
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 Hetvi,
I am writing you this letter to inform that there are plethora of sports available in my country which is very amazing.For instance, volleyball, hockey, cricket, football, basketball and many more.But particularly I like pickleball since it was new introduced.so I would suggest you should learn this sport.Because this sport is very amazing and it helps to reduce our stress while playing.
You can learn by sports classes or even you can watch videos too.If you join classes,it will be easy for you learn it and you can get plenty of new ideas that how easily we can play pickleball.It is quite difficult that's why you must join classes.As I know that you have hectic schedule over the day so hardly get time for classes but you can also watch too many videos on YouTube to enhance your knowledge about sport.
I think that we both should try to learn this sport together because if we join classes together,it will be helpful for us even we can learn very fast if we try together.Apart from this,we can enjoy together a lot even can spend time with each other.
I hope we will join classes as soon as possible and we will give our best to learn it.
Yours lovingly,
Tina shah.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student covers all bullet points of the task well. A new sport is recommended ('pickleball'), instructions on how to learn it are provided ('sports classes or even you can watch videos too'), and a suggestion is made to learn it together ('we both should try to learn this sport together'). The response maintains an appropriate informal tone suitable for an email to a friend. The ideas are relevant and expanded adequately with supporting explanations, such as discussing a hectic schedule and stress relief. Therefore, the response fulfills the requirements for a Band 6.5 to 7.0 range, appropriately addressing all aspects of the prompt with clear communication of intent.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The email is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear opening, body paragraphs dealing with the sport and learning methods, a joint proposal, and a friendly sign-off. Cohesive devices and conjunctions like 'For instance', 'since', 'If', and 'Apart from this' are used to connect ideas, though some referencing and punctuation feel slightly mechanical or repetitive (e.g., frequent use of 'too' and comma splices). Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different points, ensuring the letter flows adequately from start to finish, reflecting solid Band 6 performance.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases such as 'plethora of sports', 'hectic schedule', and 'enhance your knowledge'. However, there are noticeable word-choice and collocation errors, such as 'since it was new introduced' instead of 'newly introduced', and 'watch too many videos' instead of 'watch numerous videos'. Spelling is generally accurate, but the lexical inaccuracies occasionally require the reader to re-read slightly, placing this response firmly in the Band 6 category.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional clauses like 'If you join classes, it will be easy...'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation issues, notably comma splices (e.g., 'play pickleball.It is quite difficult', 'classes together,it will be helpful'). Errors also occur with articles and prepositions, such as 'for you learn it' instead of 'for you to learn it'. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they prevent the grammar score from reaching the higher bands where error-free complex sentences predominate.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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