Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-12

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 6.0)

Dear Madam,

I have read your article on page 2 in the newspaper dated 20th September 2025. I am very disheartened by your statement that our town is similar to the nearby towns.

I was particularly disappointed by the statement that our town has nothing special to visit which can distinguish us from the near by towns.

one of the main reason, people visit our town is because of the bird that come to the lake only during the winters and which is rare. you will not see this bird in any of the neighbourhood area and that is what makes us different from other.

I have holiday this Sunday i.e. 23rd September 2025, I would be delighted to give you the tour around the town and take you to visit the amazing view and also the birds I mentioned that come by the lake.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks & Regards,

Reshma

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all three bullet points of the task. You clearly state your disagreement with the article, explain the unique feature of your town (the rare birds at the lake), and offer a guided tour. However, the development of these points is somewhat limited. For example, you mention agreeing with the article, but you do not specify which points you agree with, which is a requirement of the prompt. To reach a higher band, ensure that every part of the instruction is explicitly addressed with sufficient detail to fully develop your argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical structure with a clear opening and closing. Paragraphing is used to separate the different points required by the task. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite limited and sometimes mechanical. For instance, the transition between the mention of the birds and the offer of a tour is abrupt. Using more varied linking words or phrases (e.g., 'Furthermore', 'In addition to this', 'Consequently') would help the ideas flow more naturally and improve the overall cohesion of the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your message clearly. You use some relevant terms like 'disheartened' and 'distinguish'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'neighbourhood area' instead of 'neighbouring areas' and 'give you the tour' instead of 'give you a tour'. The range of vocabulary is somewhat narrow, and you rely on simple phrasing. To improve, try to incorporate more precise adjectives and idiomatic expressions appropriate for a formal letter to an editor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('bird that come' should be 'birds that come') and missing articles ('I have holiday' should be 'I have a holiday'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the placement of commas and the capitalization of 'one' at the start of a sentence. These errors do not impede communication, but they do prevent the writing from reaching a higher band score.

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

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