Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-14

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 or Madam,

I have read your article in the national newspaper, and I do not fully agree with your opinion. I am writing this letter to tell you about some differences between town centres in my country.

I agree that some features and architecture are similar; most of the town centres ' buildings' colors are also same with other malls.

However, there are some differences which makes malls looks diffrent from each. There is size differences. Every mall in town have their own infratructure, there some build undergroud and some only have a ground floor only. In my city, town centre had three floors and had lots of different shops blocks.

I request you to visit my towns mall to see it. I can give you tour guide to there so, I can change your perspective to see differences in the building of town centre. Hope to get reply from you.

Thank you for taking time to read this letter

Kind Regards

Dilbir Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the opening: you do not fully agree with the article, while acknowledging that some architecture and colours are similar. You also describe differences in mall size and layout, and invite the writer to visit, so all three requested points are present. However, the comparison is only partly developed: the examples of underground malls and ground-floor-only malls are general, while the description of your own town is limited to three floors and different shop blocks. The offer of a guided tour is clear, but explaining what distinctive places or features the writer would see would make the letter more persuasive and fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall shape: an opening that states your purpose, a paragraph acknowledging similarities, a paragraph about differences, and a closing invitation. This makes the main points easy to locate. You also use basic links such as “However” and “so” to show contrast and result. To make the progression smoother, connect the examples more explicitly and avoid abrupt shifts—for instance, the move from general mall layouts to “In my city” could explain how your town contrasts with the typical examples. The final invitation and closing could also be separated or linked more naturally. Overall, the organisation is coherent, though some connections feel mechanical or unclear.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “architecture,” “features,” “infrastructure,” “ground floor,” and “different shops.” This gives you enough language to communicate the main ideas. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the reader pause: “same with other malls,” “malls looks diffrent from each,” and “give you tour guide to there” are not natural expressions. There are also spelling errors such as “diffrent,” “infratructure,” and “undergroud.” Aim to learn useful phrases as complete units—for example, “similar to other malls” and “show you around”—and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You communicate your main message using a mixture of simple statements and some longer sentences, such as “I agree that some features and architecture are similar” and the sentence beginning “Every mall in town…”. However, control of sentence structure and agreement is inconsistent. Examples include “there are some differences which makes,” “malls looks,” and “Every mall… have”; these subjects require matching verb forms. The sentence “there some build underground” is also incomplete, and “town centre had three floors” needs a clearer article or tense choice. Most ideas remain understandable, but these errors recur and make some sentences difficult to follow. Practise checking each sentence for a complete subject and verb, then review agreement and articles.

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

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