Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-17

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 4.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

My purpose of writing is this letter about talking that on which you give the articles in the newspaper about is on claims that town centres are similar to each other.

Specially i want to tell you about that you claim is totally wrong because all the city centre are different from owns.

I am not fully agree with this because some time all the centres are do different kinds of work and give different opportunities and genrally when we go town centres, it gives us different offers.

So usually this have say that all centres are similar its totally wrong .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the development of ideas. While you attempt to address the prompt, the response is underdeveloped. You mention that you disagree with the article, but you fail to provide specific examples of how your town centre is unique, nor do you include the required offer to provide a guided tour. The response is far too brief to fully address all parts of the task, resulting in a low score for task achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The letter lacks a clear structure and logical progression. There is no paragraphing, and the sentences are disjointed, making the overall flow difficult to follow. Cohesive devices are largely absent or misused, such as the repetitive use of 'and' and 'so' to connect ideas. The lack of a clear introduction, body, and conclusion prevents the reader from easily navigating your argument. To improve, you should organize your points into distinct paragraphs, each focusing on one of the bullet points provided in the instructions.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The vocabulary is very limited and repetitive. You rely on basic words like 'different', 'work', and 'offers', which do not allow for a precise expression of your ideas. There are also significant issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'My purpose of writing is this letter about talking that on which you give the articles'. This phrasing is unnatural and hinders communication. To reach a higher band, you need to expand your range of vocabulary and focus on using words that are appropriate for a formal letter to an editor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The grammar is consistently inaccurate, with frequent errors in sentence structure, verb tense, and word order. For example, 'all the city centre are different from owns' and 'I am not fully agree' contain basic grammatical mistakes that impede clarity. There is a lack of complex sentence structures, and the simple sentences used are often flawed. The frequent errors make the text difficult to read and understand. You should focus on mastering basic sentence construction, subject-verb agreement, and the correct use of prepositions before attempting more complex structures.

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

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