Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-16

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 5.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter to express my disappointment to your article describing the city centers in Ahmedabad has no difference and they look identical to each other.

I personally agree with all the aspects you discussed about the story behind the town structures. Every building has its own importance and I am delighted to read all of them.

My town has its own beauty because the apartments and building structures has built in 1980. They were influenced by the ancient sculptures and architect which make them look varied from other towns in the country.

I am formally inviting you to give a guide to you and your team so you know more about the city in depth and share more aspects about my town in your national periodicals. The awareness you spread through your publications can surge the interest among populations to learn about ancient architectures.

I am waiting for your respond.

Best regards,

Anjali

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response successfully covers all three bullet points required in the task instructions. The writer begins by stating which points she agrees with regarding the story behind town structures, explains how her town is distinct because its buildings date back to the 1980s and were influenced by ancient architecture, and finally offers a guided tour to the writer of the article. The position is clear throughout, and the ideas are relevant, though they are somewhat simple and lack full elaboration. For instance, the explanation of the town's distinctiveness is brief and could benefit from further specific details about the architecture. However, all bullet points are adequately addressed, earning a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical structure typical of formal correspondence, starting with an appropriate greeting and ending with a sign-off. Paragraphing is used to separate distinct ideas, such as agreeing with the article, describing the town, and offering the tour. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, the transition between the opening statement and the second paragraph feels abrupt, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'read all of them' referring back to building importance. Despite these minor issues, the progression of ideas is generally clear and easy to follow, supporting a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases such as 'express my disappointment', 'delighted', and 'ancient sculptures and architect'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors that detract from precision, such as writing 'describing the city centers in Ahmedabad has no difference' instead of 'claims that city centres... have no differences', and using 'architect' instead of 'architecture'. Additionally, 'surge the interest' is an unnatural collocation. These lexical inaccuracies do not impede overall communication, placing the response firmly at Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and conditional-like ideas. However, there are frequent grammatical errors in tense, subject-verb agreement, and prepositions. Examples include 'describing the city centers in Ahmedabad has no difference' (should be 'have'), 'the apartments and building structures has built in 1980' (should be 'were built in the 1980s'), and 'I am waiting for your respond' (should be 'response'). While these errors are noticeable and occur regularly, the meaning remains comprehensible and communication is rarely impeded, warranting a band score of 5.0.

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

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