Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-05

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 5.5)

Dear Sir,

I am writing this letter to share my learnings from the book name as 'Whispers of Soul' for your article. My name is Sushant Khanna resident of Surrey, BC.

The book has been written by famous writer Sandeep Choudhary. This book mainly focused questions answers of the human with this supreme almighty. It has touched every aspect of once life and guide a person that how one should tackle certain situation patiently and calmly.

This book inspires me a lot being a new comer into the market it is really hard to build up careers, It is quite normal that during this journey there will be a lot of rejection. After aligning what the writer will do at that time I reenger

I would definitely say this book will help all aged people to remain connected with this divine power and always be thankful in very situation.

I hope you will add my experience in your article.

Your sincerely,

Sushant Khanna

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: describing the book, explaining its influence, and discussing its potential impact on others. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation of how the book influenced your career journey is interrupted by an incomplete sentence ('After aligning what the writer will do at that time I reenger'), which leaves the reader unclear about the specific impact. To reach a higher band, ensure that your explanations are fully articulated and logically connected to the book's content. The tone is appropriate for a letter to an editor, but the content lacks sufficient depth to fully engage the reader.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite limited and sometimes mechanical. There is a lack of linking words to connect your ideas smoothly. For example, the transition between your personal situation and the book's influence is abrupt. Additionally, some sentences are disjointed, making the progression of ideas feel a bit choppy. To improve, try using a wider variety of linking phrases such as 'consequently,' 'furthermore,' or 'in addition to this' to create a more natural flow between your sentences and paragraphs.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it is somewhat basic and repetitive. There are also some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'learnings from the book name as' and 'questions answers of the human with this supreme almighty.' These errors occasionally make the meaning slightly unclear. To improve, focus on using more precise terminology and natural collocations. Expanding your range of descriptive adjectives and verbs will help you express your thoughts more fluently and accurately, moving beyond simple sentence structures and common vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You use a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'The book has been written... This book mainly focused'), missing articles, and incomplete sentences (e.g., 'I reenger'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with commas. While these errors do not completely prevent communication, they are frequent enough to distract the reader. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic sentence construction, ensuring that every sentence has a clear subject and verb, and practicing the correct use of articles and verb tenses.

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

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