Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-03

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 would like to inform you that I have just read an article in your newspaper that town centres in my country are all look very similar to each other which I am fully disagree. To be honest, our town centres seems very similar to each other but not fully similar. There are lot of differentiate from its other specially the lot area. Moreover, specially in my town centre there are lots of enjoyable place. There is a big playground where children can play safely and there is a huge park where everyone can make their most of their freetime enjoyable and meaningful. You could see the sunset from there and that is the reason why many people wanted to visit our town centre.

I am delightful to tell you that if you would have any chance to visit our town centre, I, myself will give you a tour so that you would understand our place.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the main bullets of the prompt, but the treatment of these ideas remains limited and under-developed. You successfully open by mentioning that you read the article and partially agree with it, noting that town centres share some general similarities. You also cover the second and third bullet points by describing specific features of your town centre, such as the playground and the park, and offering a guided tour to the writer. However, your position is not always entirely clear or well-supported, particularly in your opening statement where you mention 'which I am fully disagree' and claim there is 'lot of differentiate'. To move up, you need to extend and fully develop your ideas regarding how your town centre differs from others, rather than relying on brief and generalized descriptions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement and follows a recognizable letter format starting with the required greeting. There is a basic logical progression from your reaction to the article down to the description of your town and the closing offer of a tour. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and referencing can be unclear, such as the repetitive use of 'similar to each other' and 'specially' throughout the second paragraph. Paragraphing is also somewhat limited, as the main body is grouped into a single dense block of text instead of breaking thoughts down logically. To improve cohesion, you should use a wider variety of cohesive devices more naturally and separate distinct points into distinct paragraphs.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is minimally adequate for the task, but it contains noticeable errors that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. You attempt some less common words and phrases, such as 'meaningful', 'freetime', and 'delightful', but these are often marked by word choice and word formation inaccuracies, such as writing 'I am delightful' instead of 'delighted' and using 'differentiate' as a noun instead of 'differences'. Furthermore, there is noticeable repetition of basic adjectives like 'similar' and 'lot'. To reach a higher level, you should expand your range of vocabulary and exercise greater precision in word choice and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing demonstrates a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and basic coordination. When you attempt more complex structures, they are frequently faulty, as seen in errors with verb forms and prepositions like 'town centres... are all look very similar', 'which I am fully disagree', and 'if you would have any chance'. There are also frequent errors in agreement and word patterns, such as 'There are lot of' and 'make their most of their freetime'. These errors cause some difficulty for the reader. To improve, you need to increase your grammatical accuracy and demonstrate better control over complex clause structures and verb tenses.

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

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