Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-16

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 6.0)

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing in regards to your company's plan to either sponsor a local children's sports team for two years, or to pay for two open-air concerts. Sponsoring the sports team has a lot of advantages to bring to the community. When the local children gets sponsored, it exposes them to other teams and they can even get a chance to play at nationals and earn money. Sponsoring a sports team is one good way to empower the youth.

However, paying for the concert has several merits as well, If two concerts are held in the area, it will promote entertainment and upgrade the social life of the people.

Sponsoring the sports team and paying for the concerts are both beneficial but I am of the opinion that sponsoring the sport team will be more beneficial to the community, since it is all about empowering people. Sports is also very entertaining too.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

Juliet Ezeani.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address all three points and make your preference clear: you recommend sponsoring the sports team because it would empower young people. You also identify possible benefits for children, including exposure to other teams and opportunities to play nationally, and note that concerts could improve entertainment and social life. However, these points are brief and would benefit from clearer explanation; the concerts’ benefits, in particular, are only summarised in one sentence. The response is 144 words, six words below the 150-word minimum; the 17 words copied from the task prompt are not counted. Develop each benefit with a specific example and explain more fully why your preferred option would have the greater impact.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: it introduces the decision, discusses the sports team, considers concerts, and then states your recommendation. The paragraph beginning “However” signals the shift to the alternative, while “but” introduces your final preference, so the reader can follow the main progression. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some effective linking. To make the progression more fully controlled, connect the ideas within paragraphs and avoid abrupt transitions. For example, the concert paragraph is very short and ends without linking its benefits to your final comparison. A fuller paragraph structure and clearer references to the two options would make the cohesion more flexible and less dependent on basic contrast markers.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for communicating the topic, with relevant expressions such as “sponsor a local children’s sports team,” “promote entertainment,” and “empower the youth.” These choices help convey your main points, and the meaning remains clear. You also attempt some less common phrasing, including “upgrade the social life,” though this collocation is not natural in this context. The range is somewhat repetitive, particularly around “sponsoring” and “beneficial,” and some wording is broad rather than precise. To strengthen your vocabulary, use more natural collocations and specific terms for the effects of each option, such as community participation, access to sporting opportunities, or local cultural events.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mixture of simple sentences and some longer structures, including the conditional “If two concerts are held in the area, it will promote entertainment” and the reason clause beginning “since.” Most of the message is understandable, but some grammatical errors remain. In “the local children gets sponsored,” the plural subject requires “get”; “Sports is” also has a subject–verb agreement problem, and “the sport team” needs a plural form or an article adjustment. The comma after “merits as well” should not join the next sentence with a capitalised “If” in the same way; use a full stop or semicolon. Check agreement and sentence boundaries, while continuing to practise a wider range of accurate complex sentences.

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.