Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-30

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/Madam,

I am writing to express my feedback regarding the articles recently released in the national newspaper, which refers to my country’s town centers being identical, and I do not agree with all the statements written about it.

Firstly, the information in the articles pointed out shopping area, which I agree. Common shopping places that can be seen around the Philippines are SM, Robinson’s Mall, Vista Mall and Puregold. These are owned by same individual or corporation, which explains why these names are common and branches are widely available within the country.

However, the article mentioned that business area are resembling as well, and I do not agree with this. In urban areas, this is where you mostly find multinational business while rural areas consist of local firms of the country. Moreover, financial districts in the cities are different not just in terms of international opportunities offer but also the building structure differs from rural areas where everything is low-rise buildings and local employment.

For this reason, I would like to offer you a free guided tour of the town that can be used as reference to your

future articles.

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Irish Lopez

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task effectively. You clearly state your partial agreement with the article, provide specific examples of how your town differs from others, and include the required offer for a guided tour. Your position is consistent throughout the letter. To reach a higher band, ensure that your arguments are slightly more developed; for instance, when discussing the differences in business areas, you could provide a more concrete example of a unique local feature in your town to strengthen your argument. Overall, the task is well-covered and the tone is appropriate for a letter to an editor.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. You use transition signals such as 'Firstly', 'However', and 'Moreover' to guide the reader through your arguments. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. To improve, ensure that the connection between sentences is smoother; for example, the transition between the shopping area discussion and the business area discussion could be more fluid. Referencing is generally clear, though some minor improvements in the flow of ideas would enhance the overall coherence of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'multinational business', 'financial districts', and 'corporation'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'articles recently released' (should be 'article') and 'business area are resembling' (should be 'business areas resemble'). While you attempt to use more sophisticated vocabulary, some collocations are slightly unnatural. To improve, focus on using more precise terminology and ensuring that your word choices fit the formal context of a letter to an editor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'which I agree' (should be 'with which I agree'), 'business area are' (subject-verb agreement), and 'opportunities offer' (should be 'opportunities offered'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede communication. To achieve a higher band, you should aim for greater accuracy in complex sentence structures and ensure consistent subject-verb agreement. Proofreading for small errors like missing prepositions or incorrect verb forms would significantly improve your score.

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

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