Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-18

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,

i am writing about the articles which i recently read and i disagree with it some extent. This articles about the apperance of my hometown which is similar as other towns. Although i agree with the some facilities which is same other villages such as education, hospitals and public transportation, there are number of other facilties also available. As, there is large park which is located in the centre of hometown and people can easily visit there with their family and friends because environment is more quiet than other hometowns. Moreover, there is a museum which is related to sikh religion which helps to youth to connect with roots and ancestors. I recommend to editor to write these famous amenities in the articles so most of the people prefer to visit in our hometown to explore these facilies.

I hope you write my suggestions in the next articles. I will wait for your further articles.

Yours faithfully,

Gagndeep Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student has successfully addressed all parts of the prompt. The response begins with a clear opening statement expressing partial agreement with the newspaper article, as seen in 'i am writing about the articles which i recently read and i disagree with it some extent.' The writer then explains specific ways in which their town is different by mentioning a large central park and a museum dedicated to the Sikh religion. Furthermore, the final bullet point is covered effectively with the offer to the editor to visit and explore these amenities, demonstrated by 'I recommend to editor to write these famous amenities in the articles so most of the people prefer to visit in our hometown.' While some ideas are slightly underdeveloped due to the brevity of the response, the bullet points are all adequately fulfilled, demonstrating a clear understanding of the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with a logical sequence of ideas. The response is divided into logical paragraphs, starting with an introductory purpose and partial agreement, moving into distinctive local features, and closing with an invitation and sign-off. However, paragraphing could be structured more cleanly, and cohesive devices are sometimes repetitive or basic. For instance, the transition 'As, there is large park' is awkward, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'This articles about the apperance of my hometown which is similar as other towns.' Despite these flaws in micro-cohesion and mechanics, the message flows sequentially from one point to the next, satisfying the criteria for a band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-related words such as 'facilities', 'public transportation', 'amenities', and 'ancestors'. However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice and spelling, including 'apperance' instead of appearance, and awkward collocations like 'disagree with it some extent' instead of 'to some extent'. Less common vocabulary is attempted, such as 'connect with roots and ancestors', but it lacks precise control. Spelling errors and minor word-formation issues are present throughout, but they do not impede the overall communication of the letter, placing the response firmly at a band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and relative clauses, such as in 'which is similar as other towns' and 'which helps to youth to connect with roots'. However, control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'the articles which i recently read and i disagree with it' and capitalization mistakes such as lowercase 'i'. Article usage is also frequently flawed, as seen in 'there is large park' and 'recommend to editor'. While these errors occasionally cause strain for the reader, the sentence structures are sufficiently varied to prevent a lower band score, achieving a 5.0.

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

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