Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-16
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 request you to spend a certain amount of money to sponsor a local childern's sports team for two years rather than for two open-air concerts.
In our area, there are no facilities for children to play any sports. There are so many kids in our locality who are interested in sports but are not able to play at higher level due to either financial issues or lack of facilities. If you sponsor them for two years, I think they will be able to learn more and they might be play for our country and make us proud.
Although, our general public have not attended any concert in their life. If you sponser two concerts then it will be the first time that public will enjoy and will experience such events.
In my opinion, I think you should sponsor a local chidren's sports team for two years because if you sponsor two concerts then people will enjoy for that perticular period of time and will forget after some days. But, if you support childern then it will be helpful to make their career.
I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Yours sincerely,
Kruti Patel.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response successfully covers all bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly state the purpose of the letter in the opening, describe the benefits of sponsoring the sports team, such as giving children opportunities and helping them pursue professional careers, and summarise the benefits of the concerts, noting that it would be a unique recreational experience for the general public. Furthermore, you state your clear preference for spending the money on the sports team and justify this choice by contrasting the lasting impact of youth support with the temporary nature of concerts. All parts are appropriately addressed with relevant ideas, earning a solid band score for this criterion.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The letter is generally coherent and easy to follow. You use a standard layout appropriate for a formal letter, beginning with 'Dear Sir or Madam,' and ending with a formal sign-off. The progression of ideas is logical, moving from the introduction to the sports team, then the concerts, and finally your recommendation. However, cohesive devices are occasionally repetitive or basic (e.g., 'Although', 'If... then'), and some paragraph transitions could be smoother. Referencing is mostly clear, but overall paragraphing could be better managed to group related ideas more tightly. Nevertheless, the organizational structure is clear throughout.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your message clearly. You successfully attempt some less common vocabulary items such as 'financial issues', 'recreational experience', and 'permanent career'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'childern' instead of 'children', 'sponser' instead of 'sponsor', and 'perticular' instead of 'particular'. Additionally, phrasing such as 'play at higher level' lacks a necessary article. These inaccuracies prevent the vocabulary score from reaching a higher band, though they do not impede overall communication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms throughout the letter, using conditional structures like 'If you sponsor them for two years, I think they will be able to learn more'. However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'request you to spend' (instead of 'request that you spend' or 'ask you to allocate'), 'are not able to play at higher level', and 'public will enjoy for that perticular period of time and will forget after some days'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical accuracy is inconsistent, placing this response firmly in the band 6 category.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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