Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-27

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,

I am an avid reader of the national newspaper and I am writing you this letter to express my disagreement on your most recent article. The article states that majority of the town centres in my country look alike to each other.

Mainly due to my profession I have travel to different nicks and corners of this country and I have a strong opinion about your views on the similarity of towns. I partially agree on the infrastructure of the government buildings from the 1900's are identical to each other. They were regulated to build in the same way in earlier times. Although my town has a different history in comparison to others, It was founded by the Portuguese and has enormous churches and vast fishing docks. The people residing here are an amalgamation of Portuguese and Indian roots.

With such an eventful history this town has a lot to share to the world and I would be keen to take you on a brief tour of my beautiful town.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly state your disagreement with the article, explain the unique historical and cultural aspects of your town, and extend an invitation for a tour. The tone is appropriate for a letter to an editor. However, the development of your ideas is somewhat brief. To reach a higher band, you could expand on how the specific features of your town—such as the fishing docks or the cultural amalgamation—actively contrast with the 'identical' nature of other towns mentioned in the article. This would provide a more robust argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the different points of the task. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'Although' and 'With such an eventful history', to link ideas. However, the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and transition phrases. Some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and the connection between the government buildings mentioned in the second paragraph and the unique features of your town could be smoother.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'amalgamation', 'infrastructure', and 'avid reader'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'nicks and corners' (the correct idiom is 'nooks and crannies') and 'regulated to build' (which should be 'regulated to be built'). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise control over idiomatic expressions and passive voice constructions to achieve a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'I have travel' (should be 'I have traveled'), 'majority of the town' (should be 'the majority of towns'), and '1900's are identical' (should be '1900s are identical'). Additionally, the phrase 'I am writing you this letter' is slightly informal; 'I am writing to you regarding' would be more appropriate. While these errors are noticeable, they do not prevent the reader from understanding your message.

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

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