Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-13

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

A large company in your area has decided to spend a certain amount of money, either to sponsor a local children's sports team for two years, or to pay for two open-air concerts. It has asked for feedback from the general public.

Write a letter to the company. In your letter

• describe the benefits of sponsoring the sports team
• summarise the benefits of paying for the concerts
• say how you think the company should spend the money

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 writing this letter on behalf of our community to provide feedback regarding two options: either to sponsor a local children's sports team for two years, or to pay for two open-air concerts.

On the one hand, sponsoring the sports team has many pros, one of them is convenience. If the community will be sponsored by you, it will create substantial impact on youth. They will be more interested in the sporting activities. As a result, it will improve their strength and stamina.

On the other hand, paying for the concerts will help community to unwind from their day to day activities. Not only that, it will also help them to be social and give them opportunity to meet people of their own community.

In my view, I believe you should invest in sponsoring children’s sport team, that would be the long term benefit as compared to arranging two live concerts, which can give happiness to the community for a limited time.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task effectively. You described the benefits of the sports team, summarized the benefits of the concerts, and provided a clear recommendation. Your position is consistent throughout the letter. To reach a higher band, you could expand slightly more on the specific 'long-term' benefits of the sports team compared to the 'short-term' nature of the concerts, as this would demonstrate a more sophisticated development of ideas. Overall, the response is well-focused and meets the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs for each option, and a concluding recommendation. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand' to signal transitions between ideas. However, the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that referencing is more precise. For example, the transition between the benefits of the concerts and the final recommendation could be smoother. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different points of the prompt.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'substantial impact', 'unwind', and 'consideration'. However, there are some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'the community will be sponsored by you' (which sounds slightly unnatural) and 'give them opportunity' (missing an article). To improve, try to incorporate more precise collocations and ensure articles are used correctly. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, but lacks the flexibility and sophistication required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical slips, such as 'one of them is convenience' (a comma splice or run-on issue) and 'sponsoring children’s sport team' (missing an article). Additionally, the conditional sentence 'If the community will be sponsored' is grammatically incorrect; it should be 'If the team is sponsored'. Increasing the frequency of error-free complex sentences and paying closer attention to articles and verb tenses will help you achieve a higher score.

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

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