Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing regarding a recent article that was published in your newspaper about how all town centres in my country look similar to each other. As someone born and raised in this country, I would like to respectfully disagree with your opinion.

I agree that, at first glance, the overall architecture may look alike, as you mentioned in your article. Like every country, mine has a certain look to its buildings as well that links it back to its history. Also, the small shops surrounding each town centre might also give the same feel when you enter them, and you get the sense that they may offer more or less the same thing.

Saying that, I would really like to mention how the town centre of my area is quite distinct from the others. Firstly, it dates way back compared to the others, and hence the design vary immensely. Secondly, it has considerably more restaurants and shops. The f

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response achieves a minimal level of task completion, placing it at the lower end of the achievement spectrum. While you mention some points from the article that you agree with, such as the architectural similarities, and briefly touch upon how your town centre is different, the writing cuts off prematurely before addressing the final bullet point regarding offering a guided tour of your town to the writer. Because a major bullet point from the prompt is completely omitted, the task is only partially addressed. To improve, ensure that every single bullet point mentioned in the instructions is fully covered and extended with supporting details, such as concluding your letter with the invitation for a tour.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

Your letter demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement and logical progression of ideas. You successfully use paragraphing to separate your introduction, your agreement with the article, and your contrasting points. Cohesive devices are used, such as transition markers like 'Firstly' and 'Secondly', though referencing becomes slightly mechanical at times. For instance, the phrase 'compared to the others' is repeated closely in the final paragraph. To move to a higher band, ensure smoother transitions between paragraphs and vary your referencing words so that ideas flow more naturally without relying on repetitive structural patterns.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'architecture', 'distinct', and 'considerably'. Your word choices are generally clear, and your spelling is accurate throughout the visible text. However, there are some minor vocabulary limitations and slightly repetitive word choices, such as reusing 'others' multiple times in the final paragraph. To achieve a higher band, try to incorporate more precise lexical items and less common collocations, avoiding repetitive phrasing while maintaining natural style and precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

Your writing displays a good mix of simple and complex sentence forms, showcasing structures such as 'As someone born and raised in this country, I would like to respectfully disagree...' and subordinate clauses. There is evidence of partial control over grammar, which reflects the characteristics of a strong performance bridging two bands. However, there is a noticeable grammatical slip in your final sentences where you wrote 'the design vary immensely' instead of 'the designs vary' or 'the design varies', showing a subject-verb agreement error. To reach the next level, you need to eliminate these minor agreement errors and maintain consistent grammatical accuracy across a wider variety of complex sentence structures.

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

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