Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-14

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 6.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing regarding an article that claims every town centres in our country look pretty similar which was published in a national newspaper. I would say that not every town centres are same, they are different in every aspects.

In that article there was a saying the building of the town centres are similar, which is not true. The artitecture of each building is different, some are made up of woods and others are build with bricks and cements. We can see the difference by closely looking at the buildings by ourselves.

Moreover, there was also saying about the shopping malls which have the same brands and same design. I would say that it is also not true because the malls have wide variety of brands, some are expensive and some are cheap. In fact, the designs are also different than others.

Therefore, I would really appreciate it if you could arrange a tour for the writer of the article, and for that I personally roam him/her around the town centres. I look forward to hear from you.

Best regards,

Suraj Rai

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all three bullet points of the prompt, including agreeing with the article, explaining why the town is unique, and offering a tour. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation regarding building materials (wood vs. bricks) is a bit simplistic and lacks depth. The tone is generally appropriate for a letter to an editor, though the argument could be more persuasive. The position is clear, but the supporting details are somewhat repetitive and lack the nuance expected for a higher band score. Overall, the task is fulfilled, but the content remains at a basic level of development.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the argument. There is a logical progression from the introduction to the body paragraphs and the conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive. Phrases like 'In that article there was a saying' and 'Moreover, there was also saying' are used to transition between points, but they feel a bit forced. Referencing is generally clear, but the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and better sentence-to-sentence cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'every town centres' (should be 'town centers') and 'roam him/her around'. The use of 'artitecture' is a spelling error. While the student attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'shopping malls' and 'brands', the overall range is limited. To improve, the student should focus on using more precise collocations and avoiding repetitive sentence structures that rely on basic vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Common errors include subject-verb agreement issues, such as 'every town centres... look' and 'not every town centres are same'. There are also errors in verb tense and form, such as 'others are build with' instead of 'built with' and 'I look forward to hear' instead of 'hearing'. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents 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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