Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-25
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 5.5)
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to express my gratitude with your decision to spend a 10% of your company's profit either to sponsor a local children's sports team for two years or pay for two open-air concerts.
There are several advantages of sponsoring the sports team. Firstly, a local children's sports team suffering from funds and lack of facilities. Thus, this money assist them with latest infrastructure and team cloths. Secondly, new sponsors encourage players to focus on their game.
However, open-air concerts helps local people to attend and enjoy concert with their friends and family without spending money and travelling any mega city. Furthermore, it is encourage local people to support local company.
Moreover, I personally believe that company should spend money to sponsor a local children's sports team for two years. As a result, more youngster would encourage to play outdoor games rather than indoor games.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
Amit Dhah
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The letter addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You have described the benefits of the sports team and the concerts, and clearly stated your preference. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For example, the explanation of why the sports team needs funding is a bit brief, and the benefits of the concerts could be more explicitly linked to community well-being. To reach a higher band, ensure that your supporting points are fully extended with more detail or examples. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter, and your position is consistent throughout the response.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The letter is logically organized into paragraphs, with each paragraph focusing on a specific part of the task. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'However', and 'Moreover' to guide the reader. While the structure is clear, the flow between some sentences is slightly mechanical. To improve, try to vary your linking words and ensure that the transition between ideas feels more natural. The use of referencing is generally clear, though some sentences could be better connected to improve the overall cohesion of the argument.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. You use some relevant terms like 'infrastructure', 'sponsors', and 'gratitude'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'suffering from funds' (should be 'lacking funds' or 'suffering from a lack of funds') and 'team cloths' (should be 'team uniforms' or 'kits'). Additionally, 'it is encourage' is a grammatical error that also affects lexical precision. Expanding your vocabulary to include more precise collocations would help elevate your score.
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, 'a 10% of your company's profit' (remove 'a'), 'money assist them' (should be 'money would assist them'), and 'concerts helps' (subject-verb agreement error). There are also issues with article usage and verb forms. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring that your complex sentences are constructed accurately. The errors do not prevent communication, but they are frequent enough to impact the score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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