Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-17

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 to express my concern regarding the incorrect information in an article about similarity in town centres in the country, Canada.

I read the article and I agree that the town centres in our country have various types of brands such as Zara, Nike and Coach. Moreover, the food courts offers different type of cuisines such as mexican, italian and indian.

In addition to, the malls in Canada are different as in other countries because it have many departments which offer by

canadian town centres such as department for lost and found items and some town centres have a police department for the safety of visitors.

Therefore, I would like to offer the writer of the article a guided tour which helps him to collect more information.

I hope in the upcoming article, the readers will learn more about the town centres in Canada.

Yours sincerely,

Asatha

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all three bullet points required by the task prompt. The writer mentions points of agreement in the article, such as global brands and food courts ('I agree that the town centres in our country have various types of brands'), explains ways their town is different ('the malls in Canada are different as in other countries because it have many departments'), and successfully offers a guided tour ('I would like to offer the writer of the article a guided tour'). However, some ideas are slightly underdeveloped or lack full extension. The position is clear, and the tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter to a newspaper editor, although the sign-off includes a first name only rather than a full name. This satisfies the requirements for Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a standard formal letter opening ('Dear Sir or Madam,') and a closing. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different points, such as agreement, differences, and the tour offer. However, cohesive devices are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, 'In addition to,' is used incorrectly without a following noun phrase or object, and the transition 'Therefore,' is slightly weak in logic when introducing the tour offer. Referencing is generally clear, but the flow between sentences is occasionally disjointed. This aligns well with the Band 6 descriptor.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate their main ideas successfully. There are attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'express my concern', 'various types of brands', and 'cuisines'. However, there are noticeable lexical and collocational errors throughout the text, such as 'the food courts offers' (subject-verb agreement/word form), 'different type' (singular instead of plural), and 'offer by canadian town centres' (incorrect passive voice structure). Spelling is generally accurate, but the range of vocabulary is somewhat limited and repetitive. This performance fits the Band 5.0 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in structure. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly regarding verb forms and subject-verb agreement. Examples include 'it have many departments' (should be 'it has' or 'they have'), 'offers different type', and the incomplete structure in 'offer by canadian town centres which offer by...'. Despite these errors, meaning is generally clear and does not impede communication. The control over grammar is characteristic of Band 5.0.

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

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