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,

I am writing this letter regarding the newspaper article that has been published yesterday about town centres looks remarkably similar to each other. Although, I absolutely admire all the articles from your newspaper but I respectfully disagree with some of the points.

I acknowledge that the article makes some valid points which are many town centres have the similar multinational brands for instance Mcdonald's Zara and Nike as well as the shopping areas contain identical chain stores, coffee shops and fast food outlets. All of the stores have uniform appearances.

My town centre is distinctive from the others because it is famous for its sector system. All of the commercial stores and the residential households are divided into different categories. Moreover, there are plenty of well organised gardens along with that tourist places such as rock garden and sukhna lake.

I would be delighted to provide a guided tour of the town to the writer of the article. I would like to show the writer the main local market and distinctive landmarks. It will assist them to reconsider their opinion on the town centre.

Kind regards,

Suman Malhi.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task effectively. You clearly stated your position regarding the newspaper article, provided specific examples of how your town differs from the norm, and included the required offer for a guided tour. The tone is appropriate for a letter to an editor. To reach a higher band, ensure your development of ideas is more nuanced; for example, when discussing the 'sector system,' briefly explaining how this layout prevents the 'sameness' mentioned in the article would strengthen your argument. Overall, the task is fully addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with clear paragraph breaks that separate the introduction, the points of agreement, the points of difference, and the closing offer. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Although,' 'Moreover,' and 'For instance' to link your ideas. However, the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking phrases to connect sentences more fluidly. Some transitions feel slightly mechanical. Improving the range of cohesive devices would help the text move more naturally between the different arguments presented.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'multinational brands,' 'identical,' and 'distinctive.' There are some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'article that has been published yesterday' (should be 'was published') and 'residential households' (which is slightly redundant). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, incorporating more precise or sophisticated collocations related to urban planning or social commentary would elevate your score. The spelling is generally accurate throughout the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors that persist. For example, 'town centres looks' should be 'town centres look,' and 'which are many town centres' is grammatically awkward. Additionally, 'tourist places such as rock garden' requires an article ('a rock garden'). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more careful proofreading of subject-verb agreement and article usage. Increasing the frequency of error-free complex sentences will help you achieve a higher band.

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

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