Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-02

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 you are doing well. I recently read your article about similarities between town centres, where you compared them with different cities around the country. I do not agree with your overall idea expressed in that article.

Firstly, I am a city council member and live in Toronto which is one of the big city in our country. Here, the town centre looks similar to what other major cities have but it is only a part. To take a precise look, there is a building which is kind of main entrance to the whole centre, like a huge mall, although when we look at the whole design it is also a huge underground network connected to major locations and buildings around it, known as "PATH". The structure is quite unusual, including shops, restaurants and stores throughout the network.

Moreover, I would like to request you about planning a visit to this centre along with me, I have lived in this city for many years and am confident enough to provide a complete guided tour.

Let me know your thoughts over my suggestion.

Yours faithfully,

John Doe

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly state your disagreement with the article, explain the unique features of Toronto's 'PATH' system, and extend an invitation for a tour. The tone is appropriate for a letter to an editor. However, the development of the first bullet point is slightly weak; you mention agreeing that some parts look similar, but you do not explicitly state which specific aspects of the article you found merit. To reach a higher band, ensure that your agreement is as clearly articulated as your disagreement. Overall, the task is fulfilled effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter follows a logical structure with clear paragraphing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific requirement of the task. You use cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Moreover', and 'although' to connect ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the flow between the description of the PATH system and the invitation could be smoother. The referencing is generally clear, though the connection between the 'main entrance' and the 'underground network' could be more precisely linked to show how these features contribute to the town centre's uniqueness compared to others.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'city council member' and 'underground network' are relevant and accurate. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'request you about planning' (should be 'request that you consider') and 'To take a precise look' (which is slightly unnatural). While you use some less common vocabulary, there is room for more sophisticated collocations to elevate the tone. The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'one of the big city' (should be 'one of the big cities') and 'similar to what other major cities have' (which is slightly awkward). Additionally, 'I would like to request you about planning' is grammatically incorrect. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. You have good control over basic structures, but more attention to subject-verb agreement and prepositional usage is needed.

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.