Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-01

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 inform you that i read your article in newspaper that claims all town centres in my country are same. I am agree with your some points like mostly town centres in my country have same colour on their buildings.

But every town centre is different they all have their own things like bank, food store, clothing brands and many more and every building is unique in different shape. That is the reason i am not agree with your all points because you only hear from others but did not visit my to see my country town centres.

I am offering you a tour of the town in my country. if you will visit i will guide you and show you properly all the town centres. Then you will rewrite the article and publish it in the future with proper information. I am waiting for your response.

Yours Faithfully

Gurgopal Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task, though some parts are only partially developed. You successfully identified a point of agreement, stating that 'mostly town centres in my country have same colour on their buildings,' and you attempted to explain how your town centre is different by mentioning features like banks and clothing brands. Furthermore, you included an offer to give a guided tour. However, the ideas remain somewhat limited and under-developed, particularly when explaining the unique aspects of your town, which are described in very broad and repetitive terms such as 'different shape' and 'their own things.' This places the response at a level where the prompt is addressed, but the development lacks depth and specific examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable beginning, middle, and end, and the purpose of the communication is clear from the outset. You have attempted to organise the content into logical sections, moving from agreement to disagreement and finally to the tour offer. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. The use of transition words and referencing is somewhat basic, with frequent reliance on simple conjunctions like 'and' or 'because' to link clauses. Paragraphing is present, but the physical layout and indentation do not follow standard formal letter conventions effectively, which impacts the overall flow and readability of the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary choice is limited but minimally adequate to convey your basic message about your town centre. You use common words and phrases, such as 'food store,' 'clothing brands,' and 'town centres,' which are appropriate for the context. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice and phrasing, such as writing 'I am agree' instead of 'I agree' and referring to 'my to see my country town centres' where words are missing. While communication is generally maintained, these lexical slips and a lack of less common or more precise vocabulary restrict the range and prevent the writing from achieving a higher level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text displays a limited range of grammatical structures, relying primarily on simple sentences with occasional attempts at complex forms, such as 'That is the reason i am not agree...' However, these attempts at complexity are often faulty. There are frequent errors in grammar, including missing articles (e.g., 'in newspaper'), incorrect verb forms or prepositions, and persistent issues with capitalization, such as using lowercase 'i' throughout. These errors cause some difficulty for the reader and demonstrate a lack of consistent control over basic sentence patterns and punctuation rules.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.