Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)
Dear Sir or Madam,
I hope you are doing well.I am writing to address that, recently, I have read an article that was publicized in a newspaper. It was mentioned that majority of the city centre in my country seems familiar to each other.
Speaking about the layout as published, it is true that, basic structure and designs of the building in downtown is almost same in all cities.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 2.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 2.5
The opening identifies the article’s claim and gives a relevant point of agreement: “the basic structure and designs” of city-centre buildings are similar across cities. However, the response is far too incomplete to fulfil the task: it does not explain how your own town differs, offer the writer a guided tour, or develop your position beyond this brief agreement. The letter therefore addresses only a small part of the required content, and the reader cannot understand why you do not fully agree with the article. The stated length requirement is also not met: the response contains 69 words rather than at least 150. Add specific local features, explain your disagreement, and close with a clear invitation to visit.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5
The response has a recognisable letter opening and a basic progression from introducing the article to commenting on its claim. Phrases such as “I am writing to address” and “Speaking about the layout” signal the purpose and topic, so the limited content is not entirely disconnected. However, the response ends abruptly after one point, with no paragraph development, conclusion, or invitation. The transition into “Speaking about the layout” is also somewhat mechanical, and the ideas are not linked into a complete letter. To improve, organise the response into clear paragraphs—for example, the article’s valid point, your town’s distinctive features, and the tour offer—and use natural transitions to show how each point develops your position.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use some vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “article,” “newspaper,” “layout,” “basic structure,” and “designs.” This gives the reader a general sense of the subject, and “publicized” shows an attempt to use a more formal word. However, the range is narrow because the response is very short, and several choices are awkward or imprecise: “publicized in a newspaper” is less natural than “published in a newspaper,” while “seems familiar to each other” does not clearly express that town centres look alike. “Majority of the city centre” is also an unsuitable phrase for the intended meaning. Use precise expressions such as “many town centres share similar features” and include specific vocabulary for what makes your town distinctive.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response includes both simple statements and a longer sentence beginning “I am writing to address that,” showing an attempt to vary sentence structure. The main message is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors remain. In “I hope you are doing well.I am writing,” a space is needed after the full stop. The clause “it is true that, basic structure and designs of the building in downtown is almost same” has problems with comma placement, articles, plural agreement, and the verb: the plural subject “structure and designs” requires “are,” and “the same” needs an article. The sentence would be clearer as: “It is true that the basic structures and designs of buildings in city centres are almost the same.” Aim for accurate sentence patterns as you develop the missing points.
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.