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 Sir,

I have just read the article in your national newpaper which claims that towns centres in ly country all look similar to each other, and iam in part desagree with this affirmation. For tje begining, i would not deny the rasemblance of buildings in the centre but exclusive on the main city which require a coherent view. However, if you take a look to other cities yoy will notice a variety of structure, from the colonisied period to the liberation, it's famous for it's unique and complicated construchion,

i would like to offer you a walk together, so i can show you the beauty, and the magnigicent sense of history.

Thank you for ready

Ghada

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You make your position clear by saying you “in part disagree” and acknowledge one point from the article: buildings in the centre may resemble one another. You also offer a walk to show the town’s history, so the main purpose is recognisable. However, the response only partly fulfils the task: the points you agree with are not explained, and the difference of your town is described vaguely as varied structures from the colonial period to liberation, without a specific example. The guided-tour offer is present but could be more direct and detailed. The response is 117 words, below the required 150, which leaves the ideas notably under-developed. Add concrete local features and explain more fully what you accept in the article.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter follows a broadly sensible order: you introduce the article and your view, mention similarities and differences, then make an offer and close. Phrases such as “For the beginning” and “However” attempt to guide the reader through these points. At times, though, the progression is abrupt: the move from the main city to “other cities” makes it unclear whether you are describing your own town, and the final offer is not developed into a clear invitation. The response is also presented as one continuous paragraph, so the separate task points are not easy to distinguish. Use short paragraphs for your response to the article, your town’s distinctive features, and the tour offer, with clearer links between them.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt some topic-appropriate vocabulary, including “coherent view,” “unique,” and “sense of history,” which helps convey the idea that your town has a distinctive character. However, spelling and word-choice errors are frequent enough to distract the reader, for example “newpaper,” “desagree,” “rasemblance,” and “magnigicent.” Some expressions are also unclear or unnatural, such as “exclusive on the main city” and “complicated construchion.” This limits the precision of your description, even though the general meaning can often be inferred. Check spelling carefully and choose familiar, accurate collocations before attempting more elaborate wording. Naming specific landmarks or architectural styles would also make your vocabulary more precise and relevant.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use a few longer sentence forms, including a sentence beginning “For the beginning” and a clause introduced by “which,” but control is inconsistent. The opening sentence contains several problems in sentence construction and punctuation, while “if you take a look to other cities yoy will notice” has an incorrect preposition and lacks a comma after the introductory clause. The sentence ending “it’s famous for it’s unique…” also has an unclear reference, and the final phrase “Thank you for ready” is not grammatically complete. Most of the response relies on a small number of sentence patterns, and errors sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. Practise accurate simple sentences first, then add subordinate clauses and check pronoun references, articles, and punctuation.

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.