Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 to express my concern regarding a claim for a recent article in a national newspaper.

I have been a regular reader of your newspaper for the past ten years. One point in your article claims that all town centres in my country appears to be similar to each other. The article stated that towns such as Jaipur and Udaipur looks similar to Ayodhya and Kashi. However, I do not fully support this view because every city has it's own unique history and cultural identity. Although these towns are known for their tourist attractions, they do not hold same culture and values. Therefore, please refer to tour guide before making any misleading statements which only creates a false narrative for visitors from all around the world.

In addition, I would be delighted to offer you a guided tour to my hometown, where you'll get a change to broaden your perspective about it's local culture and tradition.

I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Thank you for your time and understanding.

Yours faithfully,

Payal Bhakta

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You make your disagreement clear and identify a point from the article that you accept: towns may share tourist attractions. You also offer the writer a guided tour, so the main purpose of the letter is recognisable. However, the response only minimally fulfils the task because it does not explain how your own town centre differs from others; the hometown is not named and no distinctive features are described. The comparison between Jaipur, Udaipur, Ayodhya and Kashi is also difficult to interpret as a point of agreement, and the request to consult a tour guide does not develop your position. Add specific local features—such as architecture, markets or public spaces—and explain how they contrast with the similarities noted in the article.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable structure, moving from its purpose to your response to the article, then to the tour offer and a polite closing. Linking expressions such as “However,” “Although” and “In addition” help show relationships between ideas. The central paragraph, though, combines several points without a clear progression: the examples of cities, their cultural identity, tourist attractions and the criticism of the article are not connected precisely. The reference to “these towns” is also unclear, and the tour offer would be more effective in a separate paragraph after a developed description of your town. Organise the body around the article’s claim, your town’s specific differences, and the invitation.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a suitable range of formal letter vocabulary, including “express my concern,” “cultural identity,” “misleading statements” and “broaden your perspective.” These choices communicate your stance and suit the newspaper context. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or imprecise, however: “a claim for a recent article” and “get a change to broaden” do not express the intended meanings naturally, while “tour guide” is not the clearest way to refer to checking local information. The repeated general terms “towns,” “culture” and “article” also limit precision. Use more specific vocabulary to describe your town centre, and check common collocations so that formal expressions sound natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use both simple and complex sentence forms, including the contrast in “Although these towns are known for their tourist attractions…” and the relative clause “which only creates a false narrative.” Most of the message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors are noticeable. For example, “all town centres … appears” and “Jaipur and Udaipur looks” have subject–verb agreement errors; “it's own” and “about it's local culture” use the wrong form of the possessive; and “do not hold same culture” is missing an article. There is also a tense inconsistency in “One point … claims” followed by “The article stated.” Review agreement, possessive forms and articles, while keeping the useful variety of sentence structures.

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