Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-30

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 hope you are doing well.

My name is Ashwani. I am writing to express my opinion regarding a large company in my area has decided to utilise 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.

Firtsly, sponsoring a local children sports team provide them a long-term benefits. It motivate them to participate in physical activity. They can easily participate in state or national level competition without taking a tension about uniforms, sports equipment. It gives them financial freedom.

On the other hand, organising a open-air concerts would also benefit community. They can easily attend the concert at free of cost. This methods motivates the local people to show their talent in front of everyone.

However, promote a local children's sports team encourage them to participate in it. It not only improve their physical helath, but also develop their mental growth. It helps in their holistic growth.

Thank you for considering my suggestions. I hope you will make decisions that benefits the community.

Yours faithfully,

Ashwani

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the three requested points: you describe long-term support for children’s sport, mention free community access and local talent at concerts, and recommend supporting the team. The recommendation is understandable, but the benefits are not equally developed. The sports section gives relevant examples—equipment, uniforms and competition—while the concert benefits are brief and the claim about showing local talent is not clearly connected to the company paying for concerts. Your final preference is also repeated rather than explained through a direct comparison of the two options. To strengthen the response, make the choice explicit and support it with a clear reason, while explaining how each option benefits the wider community. The response meets the stated length requirement; 24 words copied from the task prompt were excluded from the count.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The letter has a recognisable structure, with an opening, separate discussion of the two options, a recommendation and a polite closing. Transitions such as “On the other hand” and “However” help signal changes in focus. However, the overall progression is not fully clear: the final paragraph repeats the sports-team argument instead of comparing the options and developing the recommendation. Some links between ideas are also unclear, particularly the move from free concerts to local people showing their talent. Use each paragraph for a distinct purpose—sports benefits, concert benefits, then a reasoned decision—and connect supporting details directly to the point they explain. This would make the organisation more purposeful and reduce repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “sponsor,” “physical activity,” “sports equipment,” “open-air concerts” and “holistic growth.” These choices make your main ideas understandable, and you attempt some less common expressions. However, several word-choice, collocation and spelling problems limit precision: “taking a tension” is not a natural expression, “at free of cost” is awkward, and “Firtsly” and “helath” are misspelled. “Financial freedom” also overstates what sponsorship of uniforms and equipment would provide. Aim for natural combinations such as “without worrying about the cost” and “free of charge,” and choose precise terms that match the benefit you mean. Proofreading spelling and checking collocations would make the vocabulary more reliable.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You communicate the main points using both simple sentences and some attempts at longer structures, including “It not only improve their physical helath, but also develop their mental growth.” The letter’s meaning is generally recoverable, but errors in agreement, articles and sentence construction occur across the response. For example, “sponsoring a local children sports team provide” needs a singular subject–verb form and a possessive plural, while “It motivate them” and “This methods motivates” show agreement problems. The opening sentence also has an awkward grammatical structure after “regarding.” Practise checking each subject against its verb, and use a simpler, complete clause when a longer sentence becomes difficult to control. More accurate sentence patterns would improve clarity.

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

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