Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · 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 7.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter to apprise you of the fact that I am highly inspired by the book "Monks Lifestyle". This book is about how to stay grounded after accumulating enormous wealth. It has given me copious knowledge about how to see life through a monks mindset.

Since, it is a story of a rich man who never forgot about his past life and from where he started as a beginner, his attitude and behaviour towards others did not changed by abundance of money. As a result, this book taught me, how indispensable it is to maintain a balance between family and work. Moreover, It significantly improved my mindset towards the society by teaching me, how to be kind and empathetic towards needful section of the society. Consequently, I started donating a portion of my earning to the underprivileged section..

Would you be kind enough to consider my recommendation? I believe this book will definitely influence other people in the community by teaching them an amalgamation of kindness and respect and what their duty is towards the weaker people of the society.

Hope that you find my recommendation fruitful.

Yours faithfully,

Achin Pal

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You described the book's content, explained its personal impact, and provided a clear opinion on its potential to influence others. The tone is appropriate for a magazine contribution, and the letter format is maintained throughout. The ideas are relevant and well-supported, particularly the connection between the book's message and your personal actions, such as donating to the underprivileged. To reach a higher band, ensure that your explanations are slightly more nuanced; for example, you could elaborate more on the specific 'monk mindset' techniques that influenced you, rather than just stating the general theme.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. You use cohesive devices such as 'As a result', 'Moreover', and 'Consequently' to link your ideas effectively. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different requirements of the task. While the flow is generally smooth, some transitions feel slightly mechanical. To improve, try to vary your cohesive devices further and ensure that the progression of ideas within paragraphs is seamless. Overall, the structure is clear and easy to follow, meeting the requirements for a high band score.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.5

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary, using terms like 'apprise', 'indispensable', 'amalgamation', and 'underprivileged' effectively. These choices show an awareness of style and precision. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in collocation and word choice, such as 'accumulating enormous wealth' (which is fine, but could be more idiomatic) and 'needful section of the society' (the standard term is 'needy' or 'vulnerable'). Additionally, there is a minor error in 'monks mindset' which should be 'monk's mindset'. Despite these small slips, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your message with clarity and a degree of sophistication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are several error-free sentences, showing good control. However, there are a few grammatical slips that prevent a higher score. For instance, 'his attitude and behaviour towards others did not changed' should be 'did not change'. Also, 'Since, it is a story...' contains an unnecessary comma after 'Since'. Furthermore, 'how to be kind and empathetic towards needful section' is missing an article ('the'). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate that your control over complex structures is not yet fully consistent.

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