Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-11

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

Write a letter to the local council. In your letter

• give details of how you and your friends or family use the centre
• explain why the sports and leisure centre is important for the local community
• describe the possible effects on local people if the centre closes

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter to draw your attention towards the benefits of opening a centre to the local community.

There are variety of ways in which my social circle could use the centre. For various festivities, playing sports matches and to organize events.

Sports and leisure centres are crucial for local community. As these provide relaxation to human mind. By playing and spending time in these centres could assist community in terms of fitness, healthy mind and interaction with other personalities.

If these centres shut down, individuals could loose the place where they do meet-ups and activities for their fitness.

I hope you will think to make some recreational centres in the town.

Yours faithfully,

MK

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the development of ideas. While you have addressed the three bullet points, the content is underdeveloped. For instance, the explanation of why the centre is important is quite brief, and the description of the effects of closure lacks specific detail. To improve, you should expand on each point with personal anecdotes or concrete examples of how the centre serves the community. Because the response is 29 words short, it does not fully satisfy the task requirements, leading to a lower score in this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into short paragraphs, which is appropriate for the format. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat disjointed. There is a lack of cohesive devices to link sentences and ideas smoothly. For example, the transition between the benefits of the centre and the consequences of its closure is abrupt. You rely on simple sentence structures rather than using linking words like 'consequently,' 'furthermore,' or 'in addition' to guide the reader. Improving the use of transition signals will help create a more logical flow throughout the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally functional but limited. You use basic terms like 'social circle,' 'festivities,' and 'fitness.' There are some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'interaction with other personalities,' which is not a natural collocation; 'socializing with others' would be more appropriate. Additionally, there is a spelling error ('loose' instead of 'lose'). To achieve a higher band score, try to incorporate more precise and varied vocabulary related to community services and social impact, such as 'essential amenities,' 'detrimental consequences,' or 'foster community cohesion.'

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response relies heavily on simple sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'There are variety of ways' (missing article 'a') and 'By playing and spending time in these centres could assist' (incorrect sentence construction). The sentence 'I hope you will think to make some recreational centres' is also slightly unnatural; 'I hope you will reconsider your decision to close the centre' would be more accurate. You need to demonstrate a wider range of complex sentence structures and pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement and article usage to improve your accuracy.

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

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