Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-07-28

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 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter to letting you know about a review and admiration by reading a book which was published last week.

I was facing a difficulty while speaking in front of public. I read a book to figure out my issue and my problem was solved. Public speaking was made too easy therefore, anyone can do it by putting an extra efforts.

I started all the process which was mentioned in that and gradually my nervousness started disappearing. After practicing all the necessary steps, I gained confidence while I delivered a speech. At that moment, I realized that happened because of that book.

Based on my experience, this book will definitely influence others as public speaking was written in such a way that anyone can do and achieve it. It will undoubtedly resolve all the queries as well as fear of speaking.

I hope that you will take this into your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours faithfully,

Maris

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task: describing the book, explaining its influence, and discussing its potential impact on others. However, the description of the book is quite vague; you mention it is about 'public speaking' but do not provide a title or specific details about the content, which makes the response feel slightly underdeveloped. To improve, ensure you provide concrete details that allow the reader to fully understand the subject matter. The tone is appropriate for a letter to an editor, and the purpose of the letter is clear throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each serving a distinct purpose. You use some cohesive devices such as 'After practicing,' 'Based on my experience,' and 'At that moment' to link ideas. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For example, the opening paragraph is slightly confusing in its phrasing ('admiration by reading a book'). Improving the use of referencing and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence will help you achieve a higher band score for coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your message clearly. You use some relevant terms like 'nervousness,' 'confidence,' and 'queries.' However, there is a lack of variety and some awkward collocations, such as 'admiration by reading a book' and 'public speaking was made too easy.' To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise vocabulary related to books and personal development, and focus on using words in their correct collocations to sound more natural and sophisticated.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. For instance, 'I am writing this letter to letting you know' should be 'to let you know,' and 'putting an extra efforts' should be 'putting in extra effort.' Additionally, there are issues with article usage and prepositional phrases. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they indicate a need for more careful proofreading and a better grasp of verb patterns and pluralization.

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