Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-24

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 Sir or Madam,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing this letter about your recent article regarding the famous town centres of United States. As you mentioned in your article that all the town centres in our country look identical but I do not agree with this statement.

As I am a citizen of USA since then I born. So I am familiar with almost every place in my country. As I live near by Eaton Town Centre located at Yonge Street, which is completely different from other town centres in the country. I agree with your point that these town centres are junction of shopping, restraunts and entertainment facilities. However, Eaton Centre Town is far more unique than others as it is situated near world famous Museum of Art, which makes it a famous tourist spot in the country. In addition to this, there is a biggest city mall in the town where people come from all over the world to do shopping and see the ambiance of the town greatest mall.

I request to make this small correction in your newspaper as it can negatively influence the tourists, thinking all the town centres looks similar and they will miss the chance to see this beautiful tourist attraction of the Country. I would like to offer you a guided tour to our town next month, there will be grand music concert taking place in the town. I hope you will enjoy that.

Your sincerely,

Pooja Mehra

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly stated your disagreement with the article, provided specific reasons why your town is unique (mentioning the museum and the mall), and extended a polite invitation for a guided tour. The tone is appropriate for a letter to an editor. However, the development of your ideas is slightly hindered by some confusion regarding the location (referencing the USA while using a Canadian landmark like Yonge Street). To reach a higher band, ensure your supporting details are factually consistent and fully expanded to demonstrate a more sophisticated engagement with the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter follows a logical structure with clear paragraphing. You use some cohesive devices such as 'In addition to this' and 'However' to connect your ideas. However, the flow is occasionally interrupted by awkward phrasing and some mechanical transitions. For instance, the transition between your disagreement and the description of your town could be smoother. The use of referencing is generally clear, though some sentences feel slightly disjointed due to grammatical errors. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear, singular focus would enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using words like 'identical', 'ambiance', and 'attraction'. However, there are several instances of imprecise word choice and collocation errors, such as 'since then I born' (should be 'since I was born') and 'junction of shopping' (should be 'hub for shopping'). While these errors do not impede communication, they limit your score. To improve, focus on learning common collocations and ensuring that your vocabulary choices are natural and contextually accurate. Expanding your range to include more precise descriptive adjectives would also be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is good. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including issues with verb tense ('since then I born'), article usage ('the biggest city mall'), and sentence fragments ('As I am a citizen...'). Some sentences are also slightly awkward, such as 'I request to make this small correction'. While these errors rarely prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they are frequent enough to impact the overall accuracy of your writing. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage will help you achieve a higher score.

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

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