Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-18

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,

My name is Richard whales and I am writing in regards to the closure of the sports and leisure centre and how it will affect the local people including my friends and family members. I read about the news in the daily esteem and I felt very disappointment.

Firstly, the sports and leisure centre has become very important part of our lives. My friends, family members and myself have been using it since it was opened 20 years ago. During weekends, I go there to play badminton with my friends and this has not only helped us stay socially attached but also help us stay physically fit. My grandparents uses the gym daily as they have some physical disabilities and they have been advised by their doctor to perform some exercises regularly. Apart from this, I have seen many young children coming there to learn how to swim which is a life saving skill.

Therefore, if the sports and leisure centre closes many lives will be affected. This is the only centre in our area and mostly all the local people are benefitted. It will badly affect the health of young children as well as elderly because not all the elderly people can visit to the sports centre which is on the other side of the city. Similarly, young children cannot go by themselves and their parents may not have time to take them.

I hope you will understand and take prompt action against the closure of the sports and leisure centre in our area.

Yours faithfully,

Richard

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly explain how you and your family use the centre, why it is important for the community, and the negative consequences of its closure. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a local council. The ideas are well-developed and relevant, providing specific examples such as playing badminton and your grandparents' use of the gym for health reasons. The purpose of the letter is clear from the beginning, and the position is maintained consistently throughout the response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a concluding call to action. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the prompt, which helps the reader follow your argument easily. You use cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Apart from this', and 'Therefore' to link your ideas. While the flow is generally good, some transitions could be more sophisticated to improve the overall cohesion. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the different points, making the letter easy to navigate.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'socially attached', 'physically fit', and 'prompt action'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'felt very disappointment' (should be 'felt very disappointed') and 'mostly all the local people' (should be 'most local people'). While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the response from reaching a higher band. Expanding your range of collocations and ensuring correct word forms would strengthen this area.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'My grandparents uses' (subject-verb agreement) and 'visit to the sports centre' (unnecessary preposition). Additionally, 'I am writing in regards to' is a common phrase, but 'in regard to' or 'regarding' is more standard. Despite these errors, the meaning is always clear, and the punctuation is generally accurate. Increasing the frequency of error-free complex sentences would help improve your score in this criterion.

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

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