Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-11

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 this letter to give my personal view points whether your organisation ought to spend funds on kid's sports or opening air concerts would be greatful or not.

First of all there are numerous advantages of sponsoring the sports team for a certain timr period. One of them is that children not only can develop their physical health but also can boost mental health. To explain it more, children will get busy in sports and they will be away from bad habits such as smoking or gambling.

On the other hand, if funding will be allocated on open-concerts, children will explore their talent in music. Since every child is unique, they can get benefited from this funding.

I would be grateful if your firm distribute their some part of capital on children's sports team rather than opening air concerts in our town.

Yours Sincerely,

Arsh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address all three requested points and make your preference clear: you recommend supporting the children’s sports team. The benefits you identify—physical and mental health, and keeping children away from harmful habits—are relevant. You also mention that concerts could help children explore musical talent. However, the two options are not developed equally: the sports benefits receive some explanation, while the concert benefit is only briefly stated, and the recommendation gives little justification beyond preferring sports. The opening also frames the choice awkwardly as whether the options “would be greatful or not,” which makes your purpose less clear. To strengthen the response, explain how the company and local community would benefit from each option, then connect your final recommendation to those reasons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable structure: an opening, a paragraph about sports, a contrastive paragraph about concerts, and a closing recommendation. Phrases such as “First of all” and “On the other hand” help signal the progression, and the reader can follow your main preference. However, the opening sentence is difficult to follow, and the transition from the concert benefit to the recommendation is abrupt. The paragraphs also contain little development, so the contrast between the options is not fully established. Use clearer links between each benefit and your final choice—for example, explain why the sports programme would have a greater or longer-lasting impact. A more direct opening and a closing sentence that briefly summarises your reasoning would make the organisation more effective.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “sponsoring,” “physical health,” “mental health,” “funding,” and “talent.” These choices make the subject understandable, and you attempt some less basic expressions. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “personal view points,” “opening air concerts,” “get benefited,” and “distribute their some part of capital.” There are also spelling errors, including “greatful” and “timr.” These issues sometimes make the intended meaning less clear, particularly in the opening and recommendation. Aim for natural phrases such as “give my views,” “open-air concerts,” “benefit from,” and “allocate part of the budget,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the structure “children not only can develop … but also can boost …” and a conditional sentence beginning “if funding will be allocated.” The main ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. For example, “whether your organisation ought to spend funds … would be” creates an unclear sentence structure, and “if funding will be allocated” uses an unsuitable verb form after “if.” In “I would be grateful if your firm distribute,” the verb form also needs adjustment. There are some issues with articles, possessives, and punctuation around introductory phrases. Practise forming clear indirect questions and conditional requests, and check subject–verb forms and sentence boundaries before submitting.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.