Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 recently read your article in the national newspaper about town centres design in our country and I want to let you know that they really don't look similar to each other. Although the streets and the pavements are painted in the same colour, each town has its own significance in terms of industrial development, resources and public offices.

In the city where I live, its primarily developed to establish a space center where any national research programs can be conducted easily. Considering this vision in mind, town planners has decided to dedicate 100 acres of land to the space research center and utilized the local people in finishing the building construction. Compared to other major cities in the country, this is the only one of its kind where strict restrictions are followed, in regards to the residential and commercial constructions. People are not allowed to stay near the research centre due to its security concerns and instructed to build their home and businesses 25Kms away from the location.

This place is also know for its beautiful and spacious city parks, due to less population living in the city. If you would like to learn more about our town, please plan to visit us. I will be honoured to give you a guided tour of this location to make you understand the various important developments that are happening currently in the town.

Thank you

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points of the prompt effectively. You clearly state your disagreement with the article, provide a specific example of your town's unique characteristics (the space research center), and extend a polite invitation for a guided tour. The tone is appropriate for a letter to an editor. However, the development of the first bullet point is slightly thin; while you mention that towns have different industrial developments, you could have elaborated more on which specific points in the article you agreed with (e.g., perhaps acknowledging that some high-street shops are indeed becoming uniform) before pivoting to your counter-argument. Overall, the response is well-focused and fulfills the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. Each paragraph has a central theme, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'Although', 'Considering this vision in mind', and 'Compared to', to link ideas. However, the transition between the first and second paragraphs could be smoother. Additionally, some referencing is slightly mechanical. To reach a higher band, ensure that the flow between sentences is more natural and that you use a wider variety of linking words to connect your ideas more fluidly throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'industrial development', 'residential and commercial constructions', and 'significance'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'town centres design' (should be 'town centre design') and 'know for' (should be 'known for'). While you successfully convey your meaning, the vocabulary is generally functional rather than sophisticated. To improve, try to incorporate more precise collocations and less common lexical items to describe the unique features of your town, which would elevate the overall quality of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. However, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('town planners has decided' instead of 'have decided') and minor prepositional errors ('in regards to' instead of 'with regard to'). Additionally, the phrase 'its primarily developed' should be 'it is primarily developed'. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher band score. Focusing on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article usage would significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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