Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-21

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 /madam

I am writing this letter to inform you that regarding a News mention in your newspaper on yesterday.

I read a one news following a my home town in your newspaper.in some details not accurate in that article.futhermore as mention there my town Centres not same with others town centres.becourse of that its structure and location.in .addition it is renovation in last year by government. But in your article totally wrong some information about town centers.

therefore i would like to request from you if your not sure view for accurate details from town centers web site and weekly publish in newspaper .in addition i attach some important document for your attention, there also mention full details about town council.

finally i formally invite from you visit in our town centers and get real and new experience about that.

thank you for time and consideration.

yours faithfully

roshan.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses all three bullet points of the task: it mentions the article, explains why the town is unique, and offers a tour. However, the development of these ideas is quite limited. The explanation of why the town is different is vague, mentioning only 'structure and location' and 'renovation' without specific details. The tone is somewhat inconsistent for a formal letter to an editor, and the lack of clarity in expressing the disagreement with the article makes the position less persuasive. To improve, you should provide concrete examples of what makes your town unique, such as specific historical landmarks or local cultural features.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter is divided into short, somewhat disjointed sentences. While there is an attempt to use cohesive devices like 'furthermore', 'in addition', and 'therefore', these are often used incorrectly or placed awkwardly within the sentence structure. Paragraphing is absent, which makes the flow of ideas difficult to follow. The progression of ideas is not logical, as the transition between the disagreement with the article and the offer of a tour is abrupt. Using clearer topic sentences and grouping related ideas into distinct paragraphs would significantly improve the readability and logical flow of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is quite basic and repetitive, relying on simple words like 'news', 'town', and 'details'. There are several instances of incorrect word choice and collocation, such as 'News mention' instead of 'article', 'not same with' instead of 'different from', and 'if your not sure view' which is unclear. The spelling errors, such as 'becourse' and 'centers' (used inconsistently), also detract from the quality of the writing. 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 a newspaper editor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

The grammatical control is weak, with frequent errors that occasionally impede communication. There are consistent issues with subject-verb agreement, article usage (e.g., 'a one news'), and sentence structure. Many sentences are fragments or run-on sentences, such as 'in some details not accurate in that article.' Punctuation is also problematic, with missing capital letters at the start of sentences and incorrect spacing. The range of structures is limited to simple sentences, with no successful attempts at complex grammatical forms. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for subject-verb agreement would be a good starting point for improvement.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.