Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-22
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 Priya,
I am writing this letter to tell about new sport which you must choose for learning. In my opinion, cricket is best option for you. I think this is the best for you. This game helps you to reduce stress and overthinking.
I know about a coach who is very good in this sport. I recommended to you to learn cricket techniques from him. He is very experienced person in this field. He is also very polite. I recommended him because most of my friends learn cricket from him and they have a good experience.
I also interested in cricket and I would like to learn it. I want we learn this game together and making enjoy and fun together. we also spend a quality time during the game period.
I hope you consider my opinion, call me as soon as possible and tell me about your final decision.
Yours faithfully
Parm
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
You address all three points: you recommend cricket, explain that your friend could learn from a coach, and invite Priya to learn with you. The recommendation is relevant, and the reasons that cricket may reduce stress and that your friends have had a good experience provide some support. However, the learning advice is less fully developed: you could explain how to contact the coach, arrange lessons, or practise. The invitation is clear, but the benefits of learning together are stated rather generally. The email’s purpose remains understandable throughout; adding a little more specific detail to these points would make the response more complete and persuasive.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a sensible overall arrangement: it introduces the recommendation, gives information about a coach, then proposes learning together and closes with a request for a reply. Separate paragraphs help the reader follow these stages. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes repetitive, particularly in the opening, where you say cricket is the best option and then repeat that it is the best for Priya. Connections between ideas are also basic, relying mainly on repeated references such as “I think” and “I recommended.” Use clearer links to show how the coach’s experience and your friends’ feedback support your advice, and make the invitation paragraph flow more naturally.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main message, with relevant terms such as “coach,” “techniques,” “experienced,” and “reduce stress.” However, the range is limited and several phrases are inaccurate or unnatural, which makes parts of the email less fluent. For example, “tell about new sport” and “making enjoy and fun” do not express the intended meaning naturally, while “game period” is an awkward way to describe time spent playing. There is also repetition of “best” and “recommended.” Build a wider set of natural phrases for giving advice, describing lessons, and inviting someone to join an activity; this will improve precision and tone.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You communicate mainly through simple sentences, and the reader can generally understand your meaning. There are attempts to combine ideas, for example, “I recommended him because most of my friends learn cricket from him,” but the range of sentence structures remains limited and errors recur. Examples include “cricket is best option,” “I also interested in cricket,” and “I want we learn this game together,” which show problems with articles, verb forms, and clause structure. The sentence beginning “I hope you consider my opinion” also combines several requests without clear punctuation. Practise accurate patterns such as “I am interested in,” “I would like us to learn,” and “I recommend that you…” before trying to add more complex sentences.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.