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,

I am writing this letter to inform you that recently i read an article in newspaper regarding the structure and design of town centers in our country. I totally agree with matching colours of all city centre and the interior design.

Well my city centre is very different from other city centre which are were located in nearby towns. In our city center, we have more shops and better ceilieng view as well as have bigger car parking, moreover in our city center we have tw cienma theatre and 3d child sports centre.

furthermore it having a small garden in the center which are acciessble in winter for al community member in the city.

Actually, i knidly request you to visit my city and i would like to give you proper tour of my city and town center. I hope we will see you soon.

thank you

jashan[preet singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the bullet points outlined in the prompt, but the ideas are limited and somewhat under-developed, placing it at this level. You successfully mentioned which points you agree with regarding matching colours and interior design, explained how your town centre differs by mentioning shops and facilities, and offered to give a guided tour. However, the explanation of how your town is different relies on a basic list of features without deeper extension or support. For instance, mentioning that you have a '3d child sports centre' and 'a small garden' is relevant, but these points are underdeveloped and lack detail. To reach a higher level, you should expand on your ideas more fully, providing clearer descriptions and justifications rather than simply listing characteristics.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter demonstrates some organisation and an overall coherent arrangement, though the progression is occasionally disrupted. You used some basic cohesive devices and transition markers such as 'moreover' and 'furthermore' to connect your ideas about the town centre's features. However, the referencing and linking are at times mechanical or repetitive, and the paragraphing lacks clarity. For example, the body of the letter is grouped into a single dense paragraph that covers distinct topics ranging from shop features to the garden and the invitation. A clearer logical organisation with separate paragraphs for each bullet point would significantly improve the flow and structure of the letter.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to communicate your message, though noticeable errors and spelling mistakes cause some difficulty for the reader. You attempted to use less common vocabulary items, such as 'interior design', 'community member', and 'accessible', but these were accompanied by frequent errors in word form, spelling, and word choice. Examples of lexical slips in the text include 'ceilieng' instead of ceiling, 'cienma' instead of cinema, 'knidly' instead of kindly, and 'acciessble'. Furthermore, phrases like 'matching colours of all city centre' lack precise collocation. To improve lexical resource, you need to expand your vocabulary range, pay closer attention to accurate spelling, and use more natural collocations suitable for a semi-formal letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a very limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple sentences joined by basic conjunctions, and your attempts at more complex structures contain frequent errors. There are noticeable issues with subject-verb agreement, articles, and prepositions, such as 'recently i read an article in newspaper' missing the article 'a', 'other city centre which are were located', and 'for al community member'. Punctuation and capitalization are also inconsistent, particularly with the lowercase 'i' throughout the text and the informal opening 'Dear sir'. To achieve a higher band, you need to demonstrate better control over complex grammatical forms, ensure accurate use of verb tenses and plural forms, and eliminate basic punctuation and capitalization errors.

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

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