Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-29

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 5.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter to infrom you that I read an article in a national newspaper which clamis that town centers in my country all look very similar to each other but I am completely disgree with this opinion.

To start with, I agree with you that all town center have their own identity with same structure that displat the uniqueness of the town center.

To be price with the point, All towns have their own histrorical story with the creation of the town that differ the town from each other. And also, The living standards of which town is different.

To finish with, If you willng to write an new article, We can arrange a guided tour for my towns visit as per yor convintent time. Please let me priorly so I can schedule accordingly.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from your side.

Your faithfully,

Heni Patel

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You make your disagreement clear and include an offer to arrange a guided tour, so the letter responds to the main situation. However, the required length is not met: the response is 142 words, eight words below the minimum, with words copied from the prompt excluded. More importantly, the points are only minimally developed. You say you agree that town centres have an identity, but this does not clearly identify which points in the article you accept. The explanation of how your own town differs is also general: “historical story” and different living standards do not give a specific feature of your town centre. Add concrete examples, such as a distinctive market, architecture or local tradition, and make the tour offer direct and complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter has a recognisable sequence: you introduce your response, discuss the article, offer a tour and close politely. Paragraph breaks help separate these functions, and phrases such as “To start with” and “To finish with” signal movement between points. However, progression is not consistently clear because the second paragraph does not explain how the stated identity relates to the article, and the next paragraph shifts to general historical and living-standard claims without a specific link to your town. Some transitions feel mechanical, while “To be price with the point” does not clearly guide the reader. Use a simple paragraph for each task point and connect each example explicitly to your disagreement.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some vocabulary relevant to the topic and letter, including “identity,” “uniqueness,” “historical story” and “guided tour.” The tone is generally polite and appropriate for writing to an editor. However, the range is limited, and several spelling and word-choice errors make parts harder to understand, such as “infrom,” “clamis,” “disgree,” “histrorical” and “convintent.” Some expressions are also unnatural or unclear, including “To be price with the point” and “for my towns visit.” Choose precise phrases for the town’s distinctive features and check spelling carefully. More specific vocabulary—such as “historic market square” or “local architectural style”—would help explain how your town differs.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, for example the opening sentence with a relative clause and the conditional tour offer. However, the longer structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to affect clarity. Examples include “I am completely disagree” (the verb form should be “completely disagree”), “all town center have” (agreement and plural form), and “If you willng to write” (the conditional clause is incomplete). Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention, as in “an new article” and the capitalised “All” and “The” after commas. Practise building accurate sentences with a clear subject and verb, and use a straightforward conditional such as “If you would like to write another article, I would be pleased to show you around.”

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

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