Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-07-26

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 am writing to respond to your request, 'The book that influenced me most'. It was a really pleasure to write about my favorite story because 'The Mirror', magazine is the best selling magazine in this town.

I would like to describe the story of best friend 'Aba Yaluwo' and author is famous writer Mr. Matin Wickramasinghe. It was published in 1998 in both languages Sinhala and Tamil which is the main language of Sri Lanka.

The story is about two boys who come from completely different family background and their friendship. One boy is from wealthy family while other one from poor family and how they overcome the barriers in their friendship. It describes about true friendship and beauty of their village in a very attractive way.

Every child should read this story to learn about these two boys bond how they kept their relationship alive even though they live world apart. This book gives a complete clear picture of simple village life, children's behavior and value of true friendship as many of children may not aware about the true friendship.

I would like to appreciate the opportunity you have given to your readers to motivate their reading skill. I look forward to your response at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Nipuni Rajapaksha.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You described the book, explained its influence, and discussed its potential impact on others. The tone is appropriate for a magazine contribution. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited; for instance, you mention the book influenced you, but you could have provided more specific personal examples of how it changed your perspective or behavior to reach a higher band. The response is well-structured and follows the conventions of a letter to an editor.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The letter is logically organized with clear paragraphing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'However' or 'In addition', though the flow could be improved with more varied linking words. Some transitions between sentences feel slightly mechanical, but the overall progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow throughout the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task. Phrases like 'overcome the barriers' and 'complete clear picture' are relevant. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'really pleasure' (should be 'real pleasure') and 'many of children' (should be 'many children'). To improve, try to incorporate more precise adjectives and less common collocations to describe the emotional impact of the book.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'author is famous writer' (missing articles) and 'one boy is from wealthy family' (missing articles). Additionally, there are minor punctuation and preposition errors throughout the text. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on article usage and subject-verb agreement will help improve your accuracy.

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