Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-23

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 address the concerning issue regarding the closing of the community centre of our locality. Typically, we heard the news regarding the problems occurring in the centre such as constant water leakage and broken fence sue to wild pigs.

Firstly, we have been practicing for our football in the ground. Moreover majority of our family members use the centre for cultural events, get togethers, meet-ups for urgent need, however, they have been using all the facilities with proper care and management.

Although, it is time and money consuming process to repair and maintain the centre, thus the decision should be taken after the consideration of locals. It is an integral part of the community as it has seen all the seasons of the area. Therefore, proper measure should be taken in order to renovate it rather than closing it.

Lastly, it would be difficult for the people to organize and celebrate their gatherings. Furthermore, it will affect the youth focusing on their games.

I hope you will consider our request to look into the matter briefly.

Yours faithfully,

Harman

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed all three bullet points of the prompt, which is a positive start. You explained how you use the centre for football and social events, why it is important, and the negative effects of its closure. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the mention of 'wild pigs' causing damage is a bit unusual and distracts from the main argument about community needs. To reach a higher band, ensure your ideas are more focused on the social and health benefits of the centre, and provide more specific examples of how the closure would impact different groups, such as the elderly or children, to fully develop your response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Moreover', 'Although', and 'Furthermore' to link your ideas. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical or slightly misused, such as the use of 'thus' and 'although' in the third paragraph, which disrupts the flow of the sentence. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'it has seen all the seasons of the area', which is a bit vague. Improving the variety and natural placement of linking words will enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to convey your message, using terms like 'integral part', 'renovate', and 'management'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation that slightly hinder the precision of your writing. For example, 'address the concerning issue regarding the closing' is a bit wordy, and 'broken fence sue to wild pigs' contains a typo ('sue' instead of 'due') and an unusual context. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and ensure that your vocabulary choices are consistently appropriate for a formal letter to a local council.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. For instance, 'we have been practicing for our football in the ground' should be 'practicing football on the field'. There are also issues with article usage and preposition choice, such as 'the closing of the community centre of our locality'. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they are frequent enough to keep the score in the 6.0 range. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct preposition usage will help improve your accuracy.

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

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