Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-06

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 am Waqas, a member of the local community. I am writing today to express my concern regarding the closure of local community centre. Three years ago, when the community centre was opened for the members there was a sense of mutual excitement among our community. All the members of the society were so thrilled and during these three year, me and my friends used the facilities in various ways and enjoyed wonderful times in the centre. The centre's library helped our studies a great deal. We used it for group studies and to complete university assignments.

The Central Park is also a useful facility for the community, it not only provides amusement activities for children but also engaging forms of activities for fitness enthusiasts. The sports and leisure centre plays an important role in the lives of members who perform their exercises and play different sports there. Especially elderly people who require good quality facilities to maintain their physical well-being.

Furthermore, closing the centre will have an adverse affect on community-members, especially the young and elderly, who cannot travel to distant places to enjoy these facilties. Also, working people will also find it hard to maintain their work-life balance because community centre is a great way for them to enjoy their leisure activities.

So, I request you to kindly reconsider this decision in the greater interest of all members of this community. I would be thankful to you on behalf of all members.

Kind Regards,

Waqas

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three requirements and maintains a clear, persuasive position: you explain how you and your friends use the centre, describe its value to children, fitness enthusiasts and older residents, and outline the difficulty of travelling elsewhere if it closes. The examples of group study and university assignments make your personal use specific, while the appeal to reconsider the decision gives the letter a suitable purpose. Some points are less fully developed than others: for example, the effects on working people are stated as a problem with work-life balance but not illustrated further. Also, the reference to a library and “Central Park” could be clarified so the reader understands exactly which facilities belong to the centre. Developing these details would make the case more convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a coherent overall arrangement: it moves from your personal experience, to the centre’s wider community value, and then to the consequences of closure and a final request. Paragraphing supports this progression, and linking expressions such as “Furthermore” and “So” help signal the argument. This meets the lower-band expectation of clear organisation and shows some of the flexibility expected at the next level. However, a few links and references are not fully clear. “The Central Park” appears abruptly, and the relationship between it and the sports and leisure centre is uncertain. The repeated use of “community centre” also makes some sentences feel less connected. Clarify the facility references and use more varied, precise transitions to strengthen the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for a formal letter, including phrases such as “mutual excitement,” “physical well-being,” “adverse effect” and “work-life balance.” These choices help communicate the centre’s benefits and the consequences of closure. There are also attempts at more formal wording, such as “in the greater interest of all members,” although some expressions are inaccurate or unnatural. For example, “amusement activities” and “engaging forms of activities” are awkward, while “community-members” is not normally hyphenated. “Facilties” is misspelled, and “affect” should be the noun “effect” in this context. Aim for more natural collocations and check spelling and word forms; this would make the vocabulary more precise and polished.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response includes a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses beginning “when,” “who” and “because.” Most meaning remains clear, and the longer sentences allow you to explain reasons and consequences. Some grammatical errors remain, however. In “during these three year,” the plural should be used, and “me and my friends used” would be more accurate as “my friends and I used.” The sentence beginning “The Central Park is also a useful facility for the community” joins two independent clauses with only a comma; use a full stop, semicolon or conjunction. Articles are also missing in “because community centre is a great way.” Review agreement, articles and sentence boundaries, while continuing to use varied structures.

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

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