Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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

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 am writing this letter after reading your article in a newspaper which claims that all town centers in my country look very similar. I do agree with some of the points, but not all the points mentioned in article were true.

I agree that all the stores provide the same facilities like including coffee shops and realxing area in their centers. As a result, this helps employeers in customer satisfaction. Moreover, the material used for building is almost similar.

However, I would also like to highlight that some town centers has ancient structure which differentiates it from other buildings. In addition to this, farmers bring their fresh produce in these town centers to sell.

I would therefore like to invite teh writer of the article to visit my home town. I would be delighted to give the guided tour of the main sights. This might change his or her opinion regarding my town.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Neek

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion7.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three requested points and make your position clear: you agree that town centres share facilities and building materials, then explain that your town has ancient structures and a farmers’ produce market. The offer to show the writer the main sights also completes the task appropriately. This meets the core requirements well, and the contrast between shared features and local differences is relevant. However, the points about your town’s distinctive features are brief: “ancient structure” and farmers selling produce are mentioned without examples or explanation of what makes them unusual. Developing these details, while keeping the clear invitation, would make the response more fully supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter is organised in a clear sequence: you introduce your response to the article, state what you agree with, present contrasting features, and finish with an invitation and a polite closing. Paragraphing helps the reader follow this progression, and linking expressions such as “However,” “In addition to this,” and “I would therefore” make the relationships between ideas clear. The overall organisation is effective. To make the flow more natural and flexible, avoid relying on formulaic transitions and connect related details more directly. For example, the ancient structures and the farmers’ market could be developed together as examples of the town’s distinctive character, rather than appearing as separate brief points.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main ideas, and phrases such as “ancient structure,” “fresh produce,” and “guided tour” suit the topic. However, the range is limited, and several word-choice, spelling, or collocation problems reduce precision: “realxing area” is misspelled, “employeers in customer satisfaction” does not express the intended relationship clearly, and “all the stores provide the same facilities” is an imprecise description of town-centre features. Use more accurate collocations and check spelling carefully. More specific vocabulary for local landmarks, architecture, and markets would also help you explain why your town differs from others.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “which claims that all town centers…” and a conditional sentence in “This might change his or her opinion.” Most sentences communicate their meaning, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “some town centers has” needs subject–verb agreement (“some town centres have”), and “not all the points mentioned in article” needs an article (“in the article”). The phrase “give the guided tour” also needs a more appropriate article or determiner. Continue checking agreement and articles, and aim to use a wider variety of accurate complex structures while maintaining the clear meaning you already achieve.

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

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