Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-03
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,
TODAY I AM WRITING THIS LETTER TO ADDRESS MY SOME DISAGREEMENT REGARDING YOU ARTICLE WHICH IS IN NATIONAL NEWSPAPER.
IN YOUR ARTICLE YOU MENTIONED THAT MY COUNTRY HAS RICH IN THEIR CULTURE AND HAS RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY WHICH I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THAT.BUT I AM NOT AGREE WITH AS YOU EXPLAINED THAT CENTRAL RESIDENTIAL AREAS LOOK THE SAME.
ACCORDING TO MULTI-CULTURE THE CENTER OF MY TOWN IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS. WE HAVE VARIETY OF SHOPPING MARKETS, POPULAR TEMPLES IN THE MIDDLE OF CENTER AS WELL AS SPOTS WHERE INDIVIDUALS CAN SPEND THEIR SPARE TIME.
AS I WITNESSED THE WRONG INFORMATION IN THE NEWSPAPER I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE YOU FOR GREAT GUIDED TOUR OF MY CITY THAT WILL BE REALLY HELPFUL FOR YOU TO GET MORE AND CORRECT INFORMATION. I WOULD BE REALLY GRATEFUL IF YOU COULD ACCEPT MY THIS INVITATION.
YOUR SINCERLY,
THANKING YOU.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You address the main purpose and give a clear disagreement with the article’s claim that town centres look alike. You also offer a guided tour, so the key requested points are present. However, the point you agree with is not clearly tied to the article’s claim: you mention cultural and religious diversity, but do not explain which specific point in the article you accept. Your description of your town—markets, temples and places to spend leisure time—is relevant but needs concrete examples to show how it differs from other centres. The response is also three words below the required minimum, so it does not meet the length instruction. Develop the agreement and comparison more fully, and make the invitation sound directly addressed to the writer.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The letter has a recognisable sequence: you introduce your response, state your disagreement, describe your town, and then make an invitation. The paragraph breaks help separate these functions, and linking phrases such as “But” and “According to” show how ideas relate. This gives the response a coherent overall arrangement. Some connections are less clear, however: “According to multi-culture” does not explain the relationship between cultural diversity and the town-centre comparison, while “As I witnessed the wrong information” makes the transition to the invitation awkward. The closing also combines “Your sincerely” with “Thanking you,” which disrupts the letter’s ending. Use clearer transitions and a conventional sign-off to make the progression smoother.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “religious diversity,” “shopping markets,” “temples,” “spare time,” and “guided tour.” These choices make your main ideas understandable and show some range beyond very basic wording. However, several phrases are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “my some disagreement,” “central residential areas,” and “great guided tour.” “Multi-culture” is also not the natural form in this context, and “wrong information” sounds too definite when responding politely to a newspaper article. These word-choice and collocation problems make parts of the letter less clear and less natural. Aim for precise, conventional expressions, especially when describing the article’s claim and your town’s distinctive features.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple statements and longer structures, including “I would like to invite you…” and the conditional “if you could accept…”. The overall meaning can usually be followed, but errors are frequent and sometimes make the reader pause. Examples include “I am not agree,” “my country has rich in their culture,” and “I would be really grateful if you could accept my this invitation.” There are also problems with articles, possessives, and sentence boundaries, as in “regarding you article” and “that.BUT.” Most sentences rely on basic patterns, and the longer attempts are not yet controlled. Practise accurate verb forms and article use, then check punctuation and sentence boundaries carefully.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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