Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-12

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 am writing to formally object to the proposed opinions regarding the similar look of all town centres in our country. Recently it was published in a national newspaper but I don't agree with some opinions as each town centre represents its own importance.

I certainly agree that the each city has its own heritage and culture presence which is largely shown in town centres. Additionally, many traditional buildings have been replaced by modern shopping centres that lack any connection to local history.

However, my town centre offers a rather different experience. Its main attraction is the national museum which has historically well-preserved stones and artifacts gathered from nearby excavated sites by archeologists. Furthermore, every weekend the supermarket has been surrounded by people who come for retail shopping for daily routine needs.

I would be delighted to give the writer of the article a guided tour of my town. A Sunday morning would be ideal, as we could explore the market and museum as well as visit several historical landmarks too.

I hope this visit would offer a useful perspective for a follow-up article.

Yours sincerely,

Viral Siddhapura

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response effectively covers all parts of the prompt. You successfully identify which points in the article you agree with, explaining your perspective on heritage and modern architecture in the first two body paragraphs. You then explain specific ways in which your town centre differs from the general claim by highlighting the national museum and local landmarks. Finally, you clearly offer to give a guided tour of your town to the writer, suggesting a suitable time and itinerary. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a newspaper editor, and the position is clear throughout. All bullet points are well-addressed and extended with relevant supporting details.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter demonstrates a clear logical organisation with an appropriate progression of ideas from initial disagreement to specific contrasts and a concluding tour offer. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and effectively to separate distinct points, such as the points of agreement versus the unique features of your town. Cohesive devices are employed reasonably well, using words like 'Additionally', 'However', and 'Furthermore' to guide the reader. However, some referencing could be smoother, and minor cohesive links are occasionally repetitive, placing this comfortably at a solid band 7 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task with some attempts at less common and topic-specific items, such as 'formally object', 'heritage and culture presence', and 'excavated sites'. There are some slight inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'proposed opinions' instead of 'published claims', and 'retail shopping for daily routine needs' which is slightly unnatural. Nonetheless, your vocabulary is adequate to convey your meaning clearly throughout the letter, and spelling is accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The response shows a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses ('which has historically well-preserved stones') and conditional/time clauses ('every weekend the supermarket has been surrounded by...'). There are some grammatical errors and tense inconsistencies, notably 'the each city' in the second paragraph, and the use of the present perfect continuous 'has been surrounded' where a simple present 'is surrounded' would be more appropriate. However, these errors are relatively minor and do not impede overall communication.

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

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