Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-28

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 hope you are having good time.

Knowing about the closing of the local council has put me into distress because I and my friends often visits council for our Phd preperation on impact of local centres. Every week either 2 times or 3 times we visit to document our thesis and talk with the working class to know more about the inner workings of the council.

In addition to this, this centre is a hotspot for people to get together and exercise because of not many other options available due to the reason of small community we live in. Not only the centre helps in bringing a place to exercise but also a fun time to do small organised parties.

Looking on the negative imapcts of not having a centre will significantly alters the overall happiness index of a community which in turns negetively increasing the stress building in the society. Moreover, health among people will also decrease.

I hope you look into this matter seriously and find a good solution.

Yours Truly,

Jagwinder

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The writer successfully covers all three bullet points required in the task instructions. First, details are given about how the writer and their friends use the centre, specifically mentioning their PhD preparation and documentation of their thesis through visits two or three times a week. Second, the importance of the centre for the local community is explained, highlighting its role as a hotspot for exercise and small organised parties in a small community. Third, the possible effects of closure are described, focusing on the negative impacts on the overall happiness index and increased stress in society. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a local council, adopting a clear position throughout. Although some ideas could be slightly more fully developed to reach the highest bands, all parts of the prompt are addressed adequately, meeting the requirements for a Band 6.5 or 6 descriptor profile.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical letter structure, opening with the required salutation and closing appropriately. Paragraphing is used to separate the introduction, specific uses of the centre, community importance, negative effects, and the concluding remarks. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty, as seen in awkward transitions like 'Looking on the negative imapcts of not having a centre will significantly alters...' and 'which in turns negetively increasing the stress building in the society.' Referencing and paragraph transitions lack seamless flow, placing this text firmly within the Band 6 descriptor where cohesion is occasionally faulty.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases such as 'happiness index' and 'inner workings of the council.' However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text, including 'often visits council' instead of 'council centre,' 'preperation' (spelling), 'imapcts' (spelling), 'negetively' (spelling), and awkward phrasing like 'bringing a place to exercise' instead of 'providing a place.' The vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey meaning, but the persistent spelling and lexical errors prevent the response from achieving a higher band, making Band 5.0 the most suitable score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede smooth reading. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('the centre significantly alters... which in turns negetively increasing'), missing articles ('closing of the local council' instead of 'closing of the centre'), and preposition errors ('for our Phd preperation on impact'). While communication is generally maintained, the frequency of grammatical slips and awkward clause construction places this response at Band 5.5.

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

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