Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-20

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 5.0)

Dear sir, i am jeel sevak and i am writing this to express my concern regarding you article i just read it in the newspaper claiming that main building of towns in our nation look very similar with each other but i don't think so that it's true.

because i am working in very well-known construction firm of this country and we have accomplished very important projects of this nation and from all the project many of them are this town centres, yes i agree that they all look very similar but if you closely look at then you can see the difference ex like my town centers are very different than other because they all have different height and some of them have different shape like if you look at that building from top that it look round. so all town centers are not same i am iviting you to come to my town and i will show you all of them.

yours sincerely

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points: agreeing with the article, explaining why the town is different, and offering a tour. However, the development of ideas is quite limited. The explanation regarding the town centre's uniqueness is superficial, relying on vague descriptions like 'different height' and 'round' shapes. The tone is also somewhat informal and lacks the professional polish expected in a letter to a newspaper editor. To improve, you should expand on your arguments with more specific details about local architecture or cultural landmarks to better support your position.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter lacks proper paragraphing, which makes the text appear as a single, dense block. While there is a basic logical flow from the introduction to the conclusion, the use of cohesive devices is very limited. You rely heavily on 'and' and 'so' to connect ideas, which creates a repetitive and somewhat mechanical structure. To achieve a higher band, you should use a wider variety of linking words (e.g., 'furthermore', 'consequently', 'in contrast') and ensure that each main point is separated into its own paragraph to improve readability.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is basic and repetitive. You frequently use simple words like 'very', 'look', and 'different'. There are also issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'main building of towns' instead of 'town centres' or 'architectural landmarks'. The phrasing is often informal, which is not ideal for a formal letter to an editor. To improve, focus on using more precise adjectives and nouns related to urban planning and architecture, and avoid overusing generic intensifiers like 'very'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing articles ('in newspaper'), incorrect verb forms ('i am iviting'), and punctuation issues (lack of capital letters for 'I', run-on sentences). The sentence structures are predominantly simple, and attempts at complex sentences are often marred by errors in syntax. For example, 'i don't think so that it's true' is grammatically incorrect. You need to focus on basic sentence construction, proper capitalization, and subject-verb agreement to ensure your message is clear and professional.

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

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