Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-06

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 this message finds you well. I am writing to express my disagreement with the article in your newsletter which claims that my town center looks similar to other towns in the country.

Overall, I agree that due to infrastructure advancements, my town also has shopping center, recreational facilities and local parks and bus or train stations, which made it looks quite similar to other ones.

However, my town has different things that make it unique. Firstly, it has some historical places such as gurdwara and temple, which has its historical significance. Moreover, my town still has some old shops which sells groceries and other small items such as stationary, footwear, which is now hardly ever seen in other towns.

I would be happy to give you a guided tour of my town when you have a free time and I would like to show you some other unique things in my town. In this way, you can experience the uniqueness of this town and will change your perspectives.

Thank you for your understanding. I hope you will consider these things into your next future article.

Yours faithfully,

Harmeet kaur.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly stated your disagreement with the article, provided specific examples of what makes your town unique (historical sites and traditional shops), and extended a polite invitation for a guided tour. The tone is appropriate for a letter to an editor. To improve, ensure that your development of ideas is more precise; for instance, when mentioning the 'gurdwara and temple', you could briefly explain why these specific sites contribute to the town's unique character beyond just their existence. Overall, the response is well-focused and meets the requirements of the task effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use transition words such as 'Overall', 'However', 'Firstly', and 'Moreover' to guide the reader through your argument. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different points of the letter. To reach a higher band, try to vary your cohesive devices further; for example, instead of relying on 'Moreover', you could use more sophisticated linking phrases like 'In addition to this' or 'Furthermore'. The progression of ideas is clear throughout the text, making it easy to follow your perspective.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'infrastructure advancements', 'recreational facilities', and 'historical significance'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'my town also has shopping center' (should be 'a shopping center') and 'stationary' (which refers to being still, whereas 'stationery' refers to writing materials). To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and ensure you are using the correct spelling for common nouns. Expanding your vocabulary to include more descriptive adjectives would also enhance the quality of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that persist. For example, 'which made it looks' should be 'which makes it look', and 'which sells' should be 'which sell' to agree with the plural 'shops'. Additionally, 'when you have a free time' should be 'when you have free time'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do indicate a need for more careful proofreading, particularly regarding subject-verb agreement and article usage. Increasing the variety of complex structures would also help improve your score.

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

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