Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-07-24

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

A magazine wants to include contributions from its readers for an article called 'The book that influenced me most'.

Write a letter to the editor of the magazine about the book that influenced you most. In your letter

- describe what this book was about
- explain how this book influenced you
- say whether this book would be likely to influence other people

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 7.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I hope this letter finds you well.

My name is Sam Mistry and I am writing to let you know about the book that influenced me most for an article 'The book that influenced me most'. I have read many books but this book called 'Atomic Habits' has influenced me the most. The book is about how we can develop good habits and get rid of bad habits by changing tiny and atomic changes in our daily life.

Before reading this book, I had a lot bad habits and, I was not able to develop new habits. However, after reading a few chapters I started to make changes in my life and eventually it helped me to improve.

Like myself, everyone in this society is facing problems developing new habits or to get rid of old habits and I am confident that this book will influence them a lot. Therefore, I would like you to include this book in the magazine.

Yours faithfully,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You described the book 'Atomic Habits', explained its influence on your personal habit-building, and provided a clear opinion on its potential to influence others. The tone is appropriate for a magazine contribution. To reach a higher band, you could expand on the 'how' by providing a specific example of a habit you changed, rather than stating generally that you made changes. This would add more depth and personal engagement to your response, making the influence of the book more tangible for the reader.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'However' and 'Therefore' to link your ideas. While the progression is clear, the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words or phrases to connect sentences more fluidly. For instance, the transition between your personal experience and the general recommendation is a bit abrupt. Using more sophisticated cohesive devices would help the text feel less like a list of points and more like a cohesive narrative.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'develop good habits' and 'get rid of bad habits' are accurate and appropriate for the context. However, the vocabulary is somewhat repetitive, particularly the use of 'habits' and 'influenced'. To improve, try to incorporate synonyms or related collocations to demonstrate a more flexible range. For example, instead of repeating 'influenced', you could use 'impacted', 'shaped my perspective', or 'transformed my approach'. This would elevate the sophistication of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some minor grammatical errors, such as 'a lot bad habits' (missing 'of') and 'or to get rid of' (parallelism issue). Additionally, the comma usage in 'habits and, I was' is incorrect. While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on consistent subject-verb agreement and refining your use of complex structures will help you achieve greater accuracy and a more polished final product.

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