Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Dear Karan,

I hope you are doing well!

It is a pleasure to read your articles in the Toronto times as they are informative and inspirational. However, I hardly found the article about Toronto city either reliable or interesting. As mentioned in that article that Toronto has equal appearance just like other centres of town. I respect you and your research but I have a distinct view as mentioned below.

There is a spectrum of things which makes the Toronto centres unique. Firstly, starting from the architectures in downtown such as CN tower to the lakes include port credit and more make them distinct. Further, It also comprises of islands such as Center Island with an exceptional view of the downtown. Moreover, we also have world's attractive amusement parks including Canada's Wonderland, CNE Fair and more. All above things are neither available in other town of a nation nor in other countries of world. If possible for you let me know that if you want to explore the Toronto at your convenient time and I will be happy to become your guide in Toronto.

Your Sincerely,

Devam Modi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the task. You acknowledged the article, explained why your town is unique, and extended an invitation for a tour. However, the response is slightly weakened by the opening. You addressed the letter to 'Karan' rather than the editor, and the tone is somewhat informal for a letter to a newspaper editor. While the ideas are relevant, the development of the 'unique' aspects of Toronto could be more sophisticated, as the claim that these features are not available anywhere else in the world is a significant over-generalisation.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is organised into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Further', and 'Moreover' to link your points. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'All above things are neither available in other town of a nation'. The use of paragraphing is appropriate for a letter format, and the overall structure is easy to follow, though the flow between sentences could be smoother.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'informative', 'inspirational', and 'spectrum'. There are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'equal appearance' instead of 'uniform appearance' or 'similar appearance', and 'architectures' used as a countable noun when 'architecture' is uncountable. While these errors do not impede communication, they limit the precision of your writing. To reach a higher band, focus on using more natural collocations and avoiding repetitive phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the Toronto times', 'the downtown') and pluralisation ('other town of a nation'). Some sentences are slightly awkward, such as 'It is a pleasure to read your articles... However, I hardly found the article... either reliable or interesting.' Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout the letter. The punctuation is generally functional, though the closing 'Your Sincerely' is incorrect; it should be 'Yours sincerely'.

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

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