Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-16

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 Amina, I know you are new in town and you want some activities for distraction, so you couldn't feel lonely. i m playing different sports since my childhood. So i could recomend you better option in sports and i can also teach you. i would recomend you my most favourite sport which is cricket. You must be aware with the craziness of Pakistanis for cricket. i have been a big fan of cricket since 6 years yet since last 2 year i am not watching it as you know my father passed away 2 years ago, since that i feel overwhelmed while watching cricket. Cricket had been taught by him. i will teach you with the basics of cricket but for the deep understanding, we can register in sports club which is just near my house. The sports club trainer used to be my school sports trainer in 10th grade, so i can request him for teach us separatly.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three requested points: you recommend cricket, explain that you can teach the basics and arrange lessons at a nearby sports club, and propose learning together. The personal detail about your father also gives the email a sincere, friendly tone and explains your connection to the sport. However, the learning plan is more developed than the recommendation itself: you could explain why cricket would suit Amina, such as its social nature or the availability of beginner-friendly practice. The club arrangement is promising, but the email would be clearer if you specified how to contact the trainer or what the first lesson might involve. Overall, the task is covered, though some ideas need fuller explanation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The ideas follow a generally understandable order: you introduce Amina’s situation, recommend cricket, explain your personal connection, and describe how you could learn. This gives the email an overall structure. However, it is presented as one continuous paragraph, so the recommendation, personal background, and practical plan are not clearly separated. Some links between ideas are also awkward or unclear, particularly “yet since last 2 year” and “since that.” Use paragraph breaks and clearer transitions to show how each point relates to the next. A brief closing invitation would also give the email a more complete progression and make the suggestion to learn together more explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “sports club,” “basics,” “deep understanding,” and “trainer,” and the personal reference to cricket conveys genuine enthusiasm. There are also attempts at more expressive language, such as “feel overwhelmed.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, including “activities for distraction,” “aware with,” and “recommend you my most favourite sport.” Spelling and informal forms such as “recomend” and “i m” also reduce accuracy and polish. Aim for natural phrases such as “activities to keep you occupied,” “aware of,” and “recommend cricket to you.” This would make your meaning smoother while retaining the friendly tone.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and longer sentences, including explanations with “so” and a relative clause in “which is just near my house.” The main message is usually understandable, but errors in verb forms, tense, articles, and sentence boundaries are noticeable. For example, “I m playing different sports since my childhood” needs a present perfect form, while “the trainer … for teach us” needs an infinitive construction. The sentence beginning “i have been a big fan” also combines time references in a confusing way. Capitalise “I,” use full stops to separate complete ideas, and check tense consistency. More accurate control of these patterns would make the email easier to read.

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

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