Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-06

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You have just read an article in a national newspaper which claims that town centres in your country all look very similar to each other. You don't fully agree with this opinion.

Write a letter to the editor of the newspaper. In your letter

• say which points in the article you agree with
• explain ways in which your town centre is different from most other town centres
• offer to give a guided tour of your town to the writer of the article

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 4.0)

Dear Sir,

I am writing this letter to express my opinion about my town centers. Yesterday, I just read an article in a Ajit newspaper whichs claims that town centers in my country all look very similiar to each other. I partly agree with the points that mentioned. Many town centers have similar shopping malls. Some international brands and restaurants.Some

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 2.5

You begin to respond to the article by stating, “I partly agree,” and identify one relevant point: many town centres have similar shopping malls and international brands. However, the response stops before explaining how your own town is different or offering the writer a guided tour, so two of the three required points are missing. Your position is only briefly stated and the supporting idea is not developed. The letter also contains only 60 words, well below the required 150, leaving too little space to complete the task. To improve, address each bullet explicitly: explain a distinctive local feature, give a specific example, and invite the writer to visit with you as their guide.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 3.5

The opening gives the reader a basic sense of purpose, and the sequence from mentioning the article to stating partial agreement is understandable. However, the response ends abruptly after “Some,” so there is no complete progression through the required points or a closing. The ideas are not separated into paragraphs, and the link between the general similarity of shopping malls and your town’s own character is not established. For a clearer letter, organise the content into a short opening, a paragraph agreeing with the article, a paragraph describing your town and making the invitation, and a suitable sign-off. Complete each sentence and use simple links such as “However” and “For example” to show how the ideas relate.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use a few relevant expressions for the topic, including “town centers,” “international brands,” and “restaurants,” and the reader can identify the subject of your letter. However, the vocabulary range is narrow and the response does not yet include the specific descriptive language needed to distinguish your town. There are noticeable spelling and word-form errors in “similiar” and “whichs,” and “in a Ajit newspaper” is an awkward phrase. These errors are understandable in context but reduce accuracy and naturalness. Build a more precise range for local features—for example, terms for historic buildings, markets, public spaces, or local food—and check spelling and collocations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response includes a few basic sentence patterns, such as “I am writing this letter to express my opinion” and “I partly agree.” The relative clause in “an article … whichs claims” also shows an attempt to connect ideas, but the verb form is incorrect; it should be “which claims.” The phrase “the points that mentioned” is missing a suitable verb construction, and “Some international brands and restaurants.Some” is an incomplete sentence with faulty punctuation. Most of the writing relies on simple structures, so there is little evidence of a wider grammatical range. Practise complete clauses and accurate relative clauses, then proofread sentence boundaries and punctuation.

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

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