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,
How are you? Hope everthing is doing great. i just read you artical about my country's town centers like you said they are all very similar to each other but this not the true in my country every town center is different from each other which is a very good and useful thing. i agree with your some statements like every town has same colours bulidings which is whote colour but still a lot of difference is there. Moreover, the one town which name is pindi bazar it is totally different because it have a lot of asian shops for food and clothes which is very useful for our country and people love to explore this it is main city center. I want you to come and we will explore the center's buty and we will eat and buy lots of items from their shops. You will definitely like this exploration. Hope so u will come soon and then i will show you the beauty of my country's towns.
Yours sincerely,
X.Y.Z
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The candidate has successfully addressed all three bullet points required in the task instructions. They stated points of agreement from the article, such as the mention that 'every town has same colours bulidings', explained how their town centre is different by highlighting 'pindi bazar' and its unique Asian shops for food and clothes, and offered to give a guided tour with the phrase 'I want you to come and we will explore the center's buty'. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a newspaper editor, although it adopts an overly informal opening ("How are you? Hope everthing is doing great."). Ideas are relevant and clearly cover the prompt requirements, placing this comfortably at Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response is organised as a single block paragraph rather than distinct paragraphs for each point, which negatively impacts overall structural cohesion. While cohesive devices like "Moreover" are introduced, punctuation is frequently missing, causing sentences to run together without clear boundaries (e.g., run-on sentences involving "explore this it is main city center"). Paragraphing is inadequate because the body and introduction are merged into one large body. However, there is a basic logical progression from agreeing with the article to giving specific examples and offering a tour, meaning the response remains coherent overall, supporting a Band 5.0 score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is generally basic and repetitive, utilizing words such as 'town', 'center', 'different', and 'useful' multiple times. There are several spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'everthing', 'artical', 'whote', and 'buty', which reflect limited lexical control. While the student attempts less common vocabulary ('exploration'), spelling mistakes ('artical', 'bulidings') and imprecise word choices ('this not the true') impede communication slightly and point clearly to the descriptors for Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical control is weak. There are frequent punctuation and capitalisation errors (e.g., 'i just read you artical', lowercase 'i' pronouns, lack of full stops resulting in run-on sentences). Subject-verb agreement errors also occur, such as 'because it have a lot of asian shops'. While some complex structures are attempted ('which is very useful for our country and people love to explore this'), frequent errors in grammar and punctuation cause some difficulty for the reader, placing this performance at Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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