Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-12

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 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing this letter to highlight the importance of sports and leisure centres in people's lives.

Firstly, I would like to discuss how our community members use the centre in their lives. In particular, I have often noticed that most neighbours and friends get together on weekends, and I also visit the sports centre every Saturday with my friends to play different kinds of games like Hockey, Football, and cricket.

The sports and leisure centre is crucial for the local community because they spend their free time not only in a meaningful way but also building a strong bond with community members.

If the centre closes, individuals would devote their leisure time on social media rather than with relatives. They may become overweight as they will not have a place where they can play games and engage in physical activities.

I hope you understand the importance of centres.

Yours faithfully,

Harjinder Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly explain how you use the centre, why it is important for the community, and the potential negative effects of its closure. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a council. However, the development of ideas is somewhat brief. For instance, the section on the effects of closure could be expanded with more specific examples of how the community would suffer beyond just social media use and weight gain. To reach a higher band, ensure that your arguments are fully extended with more depth and supporting detail.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organised with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'In particular', and 'If the centre closes' to guide the reader through your arguments. However, the transitions between some sentences feel a bit mechanical, and the paragraphing could be more sophisticated. The flow is generally easy to follow, but the connection between the importance of the centre and the specific activities mentioned could be smoother. Overall, the structure is coherent and serves the purpose of the task well.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using words like 'crucial', 'devote', and 'engage'. There are no significant spelling errors, and the word choices are generally accurate. However, the vocabulary is somewhat repetitive and lacks the 'less common' items that would elevate the response to a higher band. For example, instead of 'get together', you could use 'congregate' or 'socialise'. To improve, try to incorporate more precise collocations and a wider variety of descriptive adjectives to express your points with more sophistication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as the conditional sentence 'If the centre closes, individuals would...'. While most of your sentences are clear and grammatically correct, there are minor issues, such as the phrasing 'spend their free time not only in a meaningful way but also building a strong bond', which lacks parallel structure. Additionally, 'most neighbours' is slightly unnatural; 'many neighbours' or 'most of my neighbours' would be better. Your grammar is generally stable and does not impede communication, but more variety in complex structures would be beneficial.

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

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