Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-10
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 5.5)
Dear Sir,
I read an article in a national newspaper claming that town centres in our country looks very similar to eachother. Well, I do not agree fully with this opinion. I am writing this letter to give the reasons why I don't fully agree.
Firstly, I agree with a few points mentioned in the article, for example having gas stations, liquor shops, vape shops, cafes and much more in the town centre. I also agree with the statement which mentions about gaming zone. Comparetively, my town centre is slightly different from those because it has temple,churches and mosques for the people of my town. It also has a central park for children and senior citizens with free entry. Moreover, my town centre has multiple cuisine dining restaurants from every corner of the world.
It will be great for me if you give a guided tour of my town in the next article. Thank you
Your regards,
Chris
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
You make your disagreement clear and include relevant details about your town, such as its places of worship, central park and international restaurants. You also identify some points you accept in the article, including the presence of shops and cafés. However, the response only partially fulfils the task: the points of agreement are listed rather than explained, and the differences are not clearly compared with what is typical in other town centres. Most importantly, the final sentence asks the editor to give a tour, whereas the task asks you to offer the writer a guided tour. Develop the comparison and make the invitation explicit, for example, “I would be delighted to show the article’s writer around my town.”
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The letter has a recognisable structure, moving from your response to the article to examples about your town and then a closing. “Firstly,” “Moreover” and “It also” help signal the sequence of ideas. However, the main body combines agreement with the article and differences in your town, so the relationship between these points is not always clear. The transition “Comparatively” does not clearly explain what the town is being compared with, and the closing invitation is abrupt. Use separate paragraphs for agreement, distinctive features and the offer of a tour, and connect each example explicitly to the claim that town centres look alike.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use a range of relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “central park,” “senior citizens” and “multiple cuisine dining restaurants,” and the meaning is generally understandable. There are, however, noticeable spelling and word-choice problems, such as “claming” and “Comparetively.” Some phrases are also imprecise or unnatural: “gaming zone” and “multiple cuisine dining restaurants from every corner of the world” could be expressed more idiomatically. “Liquor shops” may also be less suitable for a formal letter than “off-licences” or “alcohol retailers,” depending on local usage. Aim for accurate spelling and natural collocations, and choose vocabulary that makes the town’s distinctive character precise.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and most of your meaning can be followed. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly in agreement and articles: “town centres … looks” should be “town centres … look,” while “it has temple, churches and mosques” needs articles or plural forms, such as “it has temples, churches and mosques.” The phrase “the statement which mentions about gaming zone” has an unnecessary preposition and an article is missing; write “the statement that mentions a gaming zone.” Punctuation also needs attention in “temple,churches,” and the final sign-off, “Your regards,” is not a standard form. Check agreement, articles and sentence punctuation during revision.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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