Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-28
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 give my honest feedback about the sponsor a local children's sports team and pay for two open-air concerts.
Firstly, I want to describe some advantages of sponsoring the sports team. The team would get a certified coach for two years, which will be beneficial for players for longer period of time they play. In addition, players can get proper instruments which they need to play a game.
On the other side, if you pay for-open air concerts then it will be enjoyable for citizens. They can get a chance to spend some time with family.
According to my opinion, you should give priority to spend money on sponsorship a team for two years as it would be more beneficial.
I hope you will consider my idea.
Yours faithfully,
Manjinder
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses all three bullet points, but the development of ideas is quite limited. While you mention benefits for both options, the points are brief and lack sufficient detail to fully satisfy the task requirements. Furthermore, the response is under the 150-word minimum, which significantly impacts the score as the ideas are not fully extended. To improve, you should expand on your reasoning—for example, explaining why a coach is beneficial or how the concerts specifically benefit the community—to ensure the response is comprehensive and meets the length requirement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs for each option, and a conclusion. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'In addition', and 'On the other side' to link ideas. However, the paragraphing is somewhat basic, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. The transition between the benefits of the sports team and the concerts is functional but mechanical. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph develops a single, clear theme.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You rely on simple phrasing such as 'give my honest feedback' and 'enjoyable for citizens'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'sponsorship a team' (should be 'sponsoring a team') and 'proper instruments' (sports teams use 'equipment', not 'instruments'). To improve, try to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to community investment and sports development, and pay closer attention to word forms and collocations to ensure your writing sounds more natural.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'the sponsor a local children's sports team' (should be 'sponsoring'), 'for longer period of time' (should be 'for a longer period'), and 'According to my opinion' (should be 'In my opinion'). These errors are frequent enough to be noticeable but do not prevent the reader from understanding your message. To improve, focus on article usage, prepositional phrases, and ensuring subject-verb agreement in more complex sentences.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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