Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-02

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 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I hope all is well.

My name is Shivam, and I am a resident of "Gandhinagar" about which you wrote an article in a national newspaper.

I am writing this letter to you to express my disagreement about certain things of the article.

To start with, yes, few things about the town which were perfectly written. The things like, city's infrastructure, population, the local buildings and business etc..

However, the thing written about city's poverty and unemployment rate which I doubt were correct. I feel, city has enough employment opportunities, and the most of the young and old people are well employed. Furthermore, the rate of poverty has gradually gone down, as the local authorities have started working towards it.

To enlight you with the correct and proper information, I would like to invite you for a city tour with me, therefore I could be able to assist you the correct information, along with the visual representation of the city.

I look forward to meet and arrange a city tour with you.

Please do not hesitate if you require any information.

Thank you and have a pleasant day.

Sincerely,

Shivam Desai

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the task. You clearly stated your disagreement with the article, provided specific reasons why your town is different, and extended an invitation for a tour. However, the response lacks focus on the specific prompt regarding the 'similarity' of town centres. You focused on poverty and unemployment rather than the physical appearance or architectural similarity mentioned in the prompt. While the ideas are relevant to a letter to an editor, they do not fully address the specific premise of the article you were asked to respond to. Developing the argument about the town's unique character or architecture would have made the response more effective.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter follows a logical structure with a clear opening and closing. Paragraphing is used to separate the introduction, the body of the argument, and the conclusion. You use some cohesive devices such as 'To start with', 'However', and 'Furthermore' to link your ideas. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'To enlight you with the correct and proper information'. The referencing is generally clear, though the flow between the initial agreement and the subsequent disagreement could be smoother. Overall, the message is easy to follow, and the progression of ideas is logical.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task. You use some appropriate phrases like 'local authorities' and 'employment opportunities'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'To enlight you' (should be 'To enlighten you') and 'I doubt were correct' (should be 'I doubt are correct'). The phrase 'visual representation' is a bit formal and slightly unnatural in this context. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the precision and flexibility required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors throughout the text, such as 'I am writing this letter to you to express my disagreement about certain things of the article' (preposition error) and 'the most of the young and old people' (article error). Additionally, 'I look forward to meet' should be 'I look forward to meeting'. While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede communication, and the reader can easily understand your intended message. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of gerunds after specific phrases.

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