Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-06

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 to share my opinion on how The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey profoundly shaped my life.

The book outlines key principles for personal and professional success. It focuses on shifting from dependence to independence, and ultimately to interdependence, through habits like being proactive and prioritizing tasks. Its also defines different hierarchy of people with different standard of living.

This book transformed my approach to time management. It taught me to focus strictly on my "circle of influence" rather than wasting energy on things I cannot control. Consequently, I became highly organized, vastly improved my workplace productivity, and learned to manage team projects with far greater efficiency.

I believe this book will easily influence other readers. Its actionable management frameworks apply universally to anyone seeking to organize their daily routine, advance their career, or lead teams successfully.

Thank you for considering my contribution.

Yours faithfully,

HARSH PATEL

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'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. To reach a higher band, you could expand slightly on the 'how' by providing a more specific anecdote or example of a situation where the book's principles were applied, rather than just listing the outcomes. Overall, the response is well-focused and fully satisfies the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the prompt, which aids readability. You use cohesive devices such as 'Consequently' and 'rather than' effectively to link ideas. The progression of ideas is smooth, moving from the book's summary to its personal impact and finally to its broader appeal. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the letter follows a standard, professional structure.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary, using terms like 'profoundly shaped', 'interdependence', 'actionable management frameworks', and 'universally'. These choices are precise and appropriate for the context. There is a minor error in 'Its also defines', where 'Its' should be 'It', and 'different hierarchy' is slightly awkward phrasing. However, these minor slips do not impede communication. You show a good awareness of collocation and style, which is sufficient for a high band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. For example, 'It taught me to focus strictly on my

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.