Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-02

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 6.0)

Dear Madam,

I hope this letter finds you well.

I am writing in response of an article published in your newspaper's yesterday edition. The article was about all the town centres are looking similar to each other in my country. Although there were some points I agree with which reflects the efforts of the writer. For instance, city centres are now quite spacious than before, previously they have only shops for imported products but now there are number of shops for local products too. Furthermore; in recent years, they have introduced food court, cinema, and indoor play areas for children.

However, the town centre of my town is unique in so many ways. Along with shops for fashion and accessories, my city centre has a small clinic and a pharmacy. There is also a local bank branch which operates till closing time so that the customers can address their issues after their working hours. Moreover, it is a three stories town center with a designated parkings of customers.

I would like to suggest that the writer of the article to take out some time and visit my town's city centre and I will be delighted to give you a guided tour. I hope after visiting your opinion will change. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Kashif Khan.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the bullet points outlined in the prompt, successfully identifying which points in the article are agreed with, explaining how the writer's town centre differs, and offering a guided tour. However, some areas are more fully developed than others, which places the response at this band. For instance, the explanation of the points agreed with in the newspaper article is slightly confused, as the student shifts to discussing how city centres have changed over time ('previously they have only shops for imported products') rather than focusing strictly on the claim that town centres look similar. The description of the local town centre features, such as the clinic, pharmacy, and bank, is relevant and clear, fulfilling the second bullet point well. The offer of a guided tour is also present towards the end, though the transition and development could be slightly more refined. Overall, the ideas are generally relevant and cover the requirements, but lack consistent depth and extension across all bullet points.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression of ideas from the opening greeting to the final sign-off. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, the discussion of agreed points, the unique features of the town centre, and the concluding invitation. However, cohesion at sentence and paragraph levels is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, the use of linking devices like 'Furthermore;' is slightly awkward in punctuation and style, and referencing is not always completely clear, such as when pronouns or shifts between 'my town', 'my city centre', and 'your town' create minor confusion. While the letter holds together reasonably well and can be followed without difficulty, the cohesive devices and organizational links lack the flexibility and precision required for a higher band.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, allowing the student to communicate their ideas about town centres, local amenities, and an invitation. There are successful attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'unique', 'designated parkings', and 'delighted'. However, there are noticeable word-choice errors, collocations issues, and minor inaccuracies that prevent a higher score. For example, writing 'in response of an article' instead of 'in response to', and using 'three stories town center' instead of 'three-storey town centre'. Furthermore, 'designated parkings' contains a pluralization error for an uncountable noun. Despite these lapses, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning without impeding the reader's overall understanding.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms throughout the letter, attempting various structures such as conditional and relative clauses. There are, however, some errors in grammar and punctuation that appear consistently. Examples include tense and agreement inconsistencies, such as 'the article was about all the town centres are looking similar' instead of 'were looking' or 'look', and punctuation misuses like the semicolon in 'Furthermore;'. Prepositional and article usage also show occasional slips, such as missing articles before certain nouns or incorrect prepositions in phrases. Nevertheless, these errors are generally non-systematic and rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the message comfortably while reflecting a typical mix of structures and control at this level.

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

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