Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-11

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 editor,

I am writing in response to your article which I recently gone through. The article claims that town centres in our country all look very familier to each other which I strongly disagree with.

In your article although things written about our town are not completely wrong like we have the best food among others, we have best public parks and playgroungds. I would like to mention that our town centre is different from most other towns in terms of education and safety. We also have mordern architecture and amenities which seprates us from others. Our Downtown area is more developed and safe for the neighbourhood.

I would like to give you a tour of our town to make you come across the things and places which can chnage your opinion regarding

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You respond to the article and make your disagreement clear, while acknowledging some points you accept: the town has good food, parks and playgrounds. You also identify education, safety and modern amenities as differences, and offer to show the writer around. However, the comparison with other town centres is not explained with specific examples, and the guided-tour offer is incomplete: the final sentence ends at “regarding” without stating what the tour would help the writer understand. The response also falls 16 words short of the required minimum, leaving the ideas notably under-developed. To strengthen the letter, complete the offer, explain what is distinctive about local schools or architecture, and develop the points you agree with.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic progression: it introduces the article, discusses points of agreement and disagreement, then begins an offer of a tour. This makes the overall purpose understandable. However, the ideas are compressed into two main paragraphs, and the second paragraph moves quickly from food and parks to education, safety and architecture without showing how these points connect. The final sentence is unfinished, so the closing purpose is not brought to a clear conclusion. Linking phrases such as “However” to mark your disagreement with the article’s general claim, and a separate final paragraph for the tour offer, would make the progression clearer. A conventional sign-off would also complete the letter format.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for the topic, including “public parks,” “education,” “safety,” “modern architecture” and “amenities.” These choices help communicate the town’s potential points of difference. However, several spelling errors—“familier,” “playgroungds,” “mordern,” “seprates” and “chnage”—are noticeable, and some phrases are imprecise or unnatural, such as “things written about our town” and “make you come across the things and places.” “Best food among others” is also unclear as a comparison. Choose more precise expressions, such as “local cuisine is distinctive” or “show you the town’s landmarks,” and proofread spelling carefully to make your meaning easier to follow.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including “although things written about our town are not completely wrong” and “I would like to mention that our town centre is different…” The main ideas are generally understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. In “which I recently gone through,” the verb phrase needs an auxiliary (“which I recently read”); “although” introduces a clause that is not completed with a contrasting main clause; and “we have best public parks” needs an article before “best.” The final sentence is also incomplete, ending with “regarding” and no object. Use complete sentences, check verb forms and articles, and finish each thought before moving on.

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