Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-28
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 4.0)
Dear Mr. Sharma,
I hope you have been keeping well since our last talk. I want to express my sincere appology regarding my early departure from the family function that you organised.
|As far as the family function is concerned, i had been very excited to attend it since I got the invitation. Given that it was a really an amazing get-together, I have no words to express my happiness and say thank you for making an arrangements for this wonderful event.
Unfortunately, a day before the function, I got an email from my manager to attend the evening meeting at office. Actually, one of our customers needs an additional information about the project that i have been working on it from last couple of months. It was hard to reschedule it on another time because of the approaching deadline. Therefore, i had to made the move.
I will be very happy to organised a great party on this weekend so, that we all can unwind together. Let me know if this will work for you. you already know where to find me!
Best regards,
Karanveer Singh.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 1.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 4.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 1.0
The response is completely off-topic. The prompt required a letter to a newspaper editor regarding an article about town centres. Instead, the student wrote a personal letter to an individual named Mr. Sharma apologizing for leaving a family function early. Because the response fails to address any of the bullet points or the core purpose of the task, it does not meet the requirements of the prompt. While the length is sufficient, the content is entirely irrelevant to the task instructions provided.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0
The letter is organized into paragraphs, and there is a basic attempt at logical flow within the context of a personal apology. However, because the content is irrelevant to the task, the overall structure fails to serve the purpose of the prompt. Cohesive devices such as 'Unfortunately' and 'Therefore' are used, but they are applied to a completely different topic than requested. The paragraphing is functional, but the lack of relevance to the task makes the coherence ineffective for the intended purpose.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is sufficient for a personal letter, showing an ability to express regret and describe events. Examples include 'sincere apology', 'get-together', and 'unwind'. However, there are errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'making an arrangements' (should be 'making arrangements') and 'made the move' (which is an unnatural collocation in this context). The range is limited to basic, everyday language, which is appropriate for a personal letter but lacks the sophistication required for higher bands.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentences, such as 'I hope you have been keeping well' and 'It was hard to reschedule it on another time because of the approaching deadline.' There are several grammatical errors, including 'an additional information' (uncountable noun), 'working on it from last couple of months' (incorrect preposition and tense usage), and 'had to made' (incorrect verb form). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with capitalization and comma usage. These errors are frequent but do not generally impede the reader's understanding of the personal message.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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