Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-26

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 in regards of article, published recently in national newspaper , in which writer argue about the samilarities of different town centre.I agree with someof its aspects while i contradict with its some aspects.

If i talk about the same fearures of towns , i do agree that almost all town centers have retail shops of basic needs ,like food , health facilities and outfit brands. Its very easy for every president in the town to get necessary items.

On the other side ,if i talk about its conntroversy aspects, all townsdo not have same arrangement regarding traffi. management and safety measures for the costumers.

fo instance, if i compare centres of Rawalpindi with Isla abad, there is a huge difference in it, management in Rawalpindi is quite miserable , however, In Islamabad , it is somehow managed.

I would like to make a tour around the centres with you.During with visit. During this visit we can explorethis further.

Iam looki

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response covers all three bullet points required by the task: it acknowledges points of agreement regarding basic retail shops, explains how the student's town differs in terms of traffic management and safety, and offers to give a guided tour. A clear position is presented throughout the letter, although the development of ideas is somewhat limited and the letter trails off abruptly at the end ('Iam looki...'). Despite this unfinished ending, the writer successfully addresses the communicative purpose and covers all necessary aspects required for a General Training Task 1 response, leaning towards Band 6 descriptors where all parts are addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with a clear opening, body paragraphs dealing with different viewpoints, and an attempt at a closing. However, paragraphing is underdeveloped, and some transitions are abrupt or awkward, such as 'If i talk about the same fearures of towns' and 'On the other side ,if i talk about its conntroversy aspects'. Cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or inaccurate, and referencing is occasionally unclear. Furthermore, the letter is incomplete at the very end, lacking a proper sign-off, which disrupts the logical flow and overall progression of the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with some attempts at less common items such as 'controversy aspects', 'facilities', and 'arrangement'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('samilarities', 'fearures', 'costumers', 'Isla abad') and word choice inaccuracies ('contradict with its some aspects', 'president' instead of 'resident', 'conntroversy aspects'). These errors do not completely impede communication, as the reader can deduce the intended meaning, but they restrict the lexical score to Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional structures ('If i talk about...', 'if i compare...'). However, grammatical control is inconsistent. There are frequent punctuation and capitalization errors, such as missing spaces after commas, uncapitalized pronouns ('i'), and spacing issues around punctuation marks. Errors also appear in prepositions and articles (e.g., 'in regards of article', 'in national newspaper', 'regarding traffi. management'). While the meaning is generally communicated, the frequency of errors places this performance within the Band 5.5 range.

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

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