Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-05

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 this letter to express my views about the recent article your newspaper published that all town centre in our nation look similar to each other.

Without any doubt, I personally believe that the first paragraph about my town Surrey was definately right which states that the 90% of the houses are made-up of wood and rest 10% are of concrete.

Coming to next paragraph which claims that the roads were narrow and mainly shortage of parking is totally with which I do not agree.I am living here from my childhood and never face any parking problem and road s are wide enough that big trucks drive in one lane.

I am requesting you a guided tour to my town centre when you have spare time.

I will wait for your prompt response.

Kind regards,

Sam

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You make your disagreement clear by challenging the claims about narrow roads and parking, and you include an offer of a guided tour. However, the response only partially covers the task: the point you agree with is not clearly identified as an article claim, and the description of Surrey’s distinctive features is limited. The statement about wooden and concrete houses is difficult to connect to how the town centre differs from other centres, and the tour offer is not developed into a clear invitation. The response also falls short of the required minimum length. Add specific, relevant details about what makes the centre distinctive and explain more fully which article points you accept and reject.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter has a recognisable sequence: you introduce your purpose, discuss claims from the article, and end with an offer and closing. Paragraph breaks help separate these stages. However, progression is sometimes difficult to follow because the first point is described as “right” without clearly explaining its relevance, while “Coming to next paragraph” does not identify the claim precisely. The transition into the disagreement is also awkward, and the short tour paragraph feels abrupt. Use clearer links between each article claim and your response, and group the agreement, disagreement, and invitation into well-developed paragraphs. This would make the organisation more consistently easy to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-appropriate language, including “express my views,” “parking problem,” and “guided tour,” so the main message is generally understandable. There is also an attempt at formal letter vocabulary. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “shortage of parking is totally with which I do not agree” and “I am requesting you a guided tour.” Spelling errors in “definately” and “centre” phrasing also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise expressions such as “I disagree with the claim that parking is limited” and “I would be pleased to show you around.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, for example the opening sentence and the sentence beginning “Coming to next paragraph.” The reader can usually understand your main points, but errors occur in agreement, articles, verb forms, and sentence construction. Examples include “all town centre … look,” “the 90% of the houses,” “I am living here from my childhood,” and “never face any parking problem.” Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly where sentences run together after “agree.” Practise accurate forms such as “all town centres,” “90% of houses,” and “I have lived here since childhood.” Clearer sentence boundaries would improve control.

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

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