Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-12

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 5.5)

Dear Sir,

I am writing to give you the details about the center activities which me and my close ones doing there.

Firstly, I would like to explain the situation in detail that how the sports and leisure centre is crucial and beneficial for the public.

Many old age people recommended the walk and exercise for their health issues. Moreover, nowadays younger also need for exercise because of obesity and many new increasingly health problems. Sports can also play important role in our lives, many children used to do sports in the evenings.

Another thing I wanted to share with you there are many problems are arising when the centre is not near. For instance, old people who are retired they do not have many activies to do in their leisure time, so they go for walk and simple exercises to the centre. If the centre will open in our area, it will be very beneficial for local community. It provides safety also, currently we are not giving permission to our children to go outside for playing because of safety issues. consequently, this can solve our many problems.

I look forward to your response.

Yours faithfully,

Kinza Latif

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all three bullet points required in the task prompt. The writer mentions how they and their family use the centre, explains why it is important for the local community, and describes the possible negative effects if it closes, specifically focusing on youth safety and elderly activities. However, the ideas are somewhat limited and repetitive, with generalisations rather than fully extended details. For example, the statement 'how the sports and leisure centre is crucial and beneficial for the public' is stated rather than thoroughly exemplified. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a council, although the opening salutation ('Dear Sir') does not match the prompt's instruction ('Dear Sir or Madam'). Overall, the task is addressed adequately, fitting the criteria for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter has a coherent overall arrangement, with a clear beginning, middle paragraphs addressing the prompt requirements, and a sign-off. Paragraphing is utilised to separate distinct points, such as personal use, community benefits, and safety concerns. However, cohesion is at times faulty and mechanical. Transition phrases like 'Firstly, I would like to explain the situation in detail that how...' and 'Another thing I wanted to share with you...' feel unnatural and clunky. Furthermore, referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'If the centre will open in our area...', which contradicts the premise that the centre is currently operating and facing closure. These organizational and referencing flaws place the response solidly in the Band 6.0 range.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating points related to health, leisure, and community safety ('obesity', 'leisure time', 'safety issues'). However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations throughout the text, such as 'close ones' instead of 'family members', 'younger' instead of 'young people', and 'increasingly health problems' instead of 'increasing health problems'. Additionally, the misuse of 'open' instead of 'close' or 'remain open' detracts from precision. The vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey meaning, but errors in word choice and form prevent it from reaching a higher band, making Band 5.5 an accurate reflection of this performance.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are several noticeable grammatical errors that disrupt the flow and occasionally obscure meaning. For instance, 'the details about the center activities which me and my close ones doing there' contains an improper relative clause and pronoun case ('me and my'). Another major error is the tense and conditional usage in 'If the centre will open in our area...', where the future modal is incorrectly used after 'if' in a context discussing an existing facility. Frequent minor errors in article usage and prepositions are also present. These issues align the response with the Band 5.0 descriptors.

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.