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 hope you are doing well. I have been thinking about your article published in national newspaper which claims that town centres of my country all look very similar to each other. I personally do not fully agree with this notion.

I agree that most of the town centres have same facilities such as shopping malls, restaurants and banks. Furthermore, the design of modern buildings are similar.

If I talk about my town centre, it is different from others. In my town, there are old historical and religious places which are not usually found in all towns. There is a big local supermarket which is running from last two decades. The local farmers and other small businesses sell local traditional and cultural things in the market. These features make my town different from others.

I would like to offer the writer a guided tour of my town. I could show them historical and religious places along with the old local supermarket. I could show them how these things show uniqueness of my town.

Yours Sincerely,

Rimple Sharma

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all three bullet points of the prompt effectively. You clearly stated your partial disagreement with the article, provided specific examples of how your town differs (historical/religious sites and the local market), and extended a polite invitation for a guided tour. Your position is consistent throughout the letter. To reach a higher band, ensure your ideas are slightly more developed; for instance, describing the specific atmosphere or architectural style of the historical sites would add more depth to your argument. Overall, the task is fully addressed with a clear and appropriate tone for a letter to an editor.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the prompt, which helps the reader follow your argument easily. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore' and 'In my town', which help connect your ideas. However, the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that transitions between sentences are smoother. At times, the connection between sentences feels slightly mechanical. Overall, the structure is clear and the progression of ideas is logical throughout the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your meaning clearly. You use relevant terms like 'historical and religious places', 'small businesses', and 'uniqueness'. However, the vocabulary is somewhat basic and repetitive. For example, you use the word 'different' multiple times in the third paragraph. To improve, try to incorporate more precise synonyms or collocations to demonstrate a wider range. There are no significant spelling errors, and your word choice is generally appropriate for the context of a letter to a newspaper editor, though it lacks the sophistication required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is always clear, there are some grammatical inaccuracies. For example, 'the design of modern buildings are similar' should be 'is similar' (subject-verb agreement), and 'running from last two decades' should be 'has been running for the last two decades'. Additionally, 'in national newspaper' requires an article ('a' or 'the'). Despite these errors, they do not impede communication. To achieve a higher score, focus on improving your control over verb tenses and articles, and attempt to use a broader range of complex grammatical structures with greater accuracy.

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.