Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-22

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 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I trust this correspondence reaches you in good health. I am writing in response to your article in a national newspaper stating that all town centres in my country looks identical. I believe information presented in your article is not accurate as every town centre has different shopping centers.However, I do agree with the certain points like it provides similar services to the consumers and pricing of products are same in terms of similar brands.

I live in a small city and it only has two small shopping centers whereas chandigarh is a big city and it has huge shopping centres equivalent to the international level. There is no possibility that it is same as other's cities. Moreover, there are some cities which only have one shopping mall that looks completely different from the one's in my city.

I would like to invite you to visit my town and explore my city fully. I would happy to assit you during your visit and would like you take you to the nearby shopping centres and retail shops. Therefore, we can discuss in detail about the differences in their outlooks and can discuss about developed and under developed cities.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon regarding this matter.

Yours faithfully,

John smith

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three requested points: you identify aspects of the article you accept, explain how your town differs, and invite the writer to visit. Your position is clear in saying the claim is “not accurate,” while acknowledging that town centres may offer similar services and prices for familiar brands. The comparison between your small city’s two shopping centres and Chandigarh’s much larger centres is relevant, but the explanation remains fairly general; it does not show what makes your own town centre distinctive beyond its size and number of shops. The offer of a guided visit is clear, though adding a specific local feature or attraction would make the invitation more persuasive. This covers the task well overall, but the points are not all developed equally.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall progression: you respond to the article, compare town centres, make an invitation, and close politely. Paragraphing helps separate these functions, and phrases such as “However” and “Moreover” signal relationships between ideas. Some connections are less clear or feel mechanical, particularly “Therefore, we can discuss in detail…” because the link between visiting the shops and discussing developed and under-developed cities is not fully explained. The comparison also shifts from your town to Chandigarh and then to other cities without clearly establishing how these examples support your main point. Make the comparison more direct and use references that clearly identify which town or shopping centre you mean; this would make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a suitable range for a formal letter, including phrases such as “in response to,” “similar services,” “international level,” and “guided” in the context of offering a visit. The meaning is generally clear, and your vocabulary allows you to discuss similarities and differences. However, some choices are imprecise or unnatural, such as “all town centres…looks identical,” “equivalent to the international level,” and “discuss about.” There are also spelling errors, including “assit,” and inconsistent forms such as “shopping centers” and “shopping centres.” These do not prevent understanding, but they limit the accuracy and naturalness of the vocabulary. Aim for precise collocations and consistent spelling conventions, especially in a formal letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “whereas” and “that,” and most of the message remains understandable. Some grammatical errors persist, however. For example, “all town centres…looks” has a subject–verb agreement error, and “I would happy” is missing “be.” In “I would like you take you,” the infinitive construction is faulty, while “the one's in my city” has an incorrect plural form and apostrophe. There are also punctuation and spacing issues, such as the missing space after “centers.” These errors rarely obstruct the message, but checking agreement, verb patterns, and sentence punctuation would improve control and make the letter more polished.

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

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