Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-07

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 express my views regarding the article published in your magazine.

To begin with,this book influenced me in enormous ways as I was really demotivated in my life but this book was all about the life was alot od ups and downs so we have to deal with it and with the passage of time everything seems to be perfect.

This book has a great impact on me as after reading your article i feel so relaxing that if its a bad day but its not a bad life.

Moreover, Not only me but this book will also influence people all worldwide because due to hectic schedules and imbalance of personal and professional life people really really frustrated.

So this book is just a miracle for the readers.

I am really grateful and hope to have some more articles in future

Yours faithfully

Ashi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points: describing the book, explaining its influence, and discussing its potential impact on others. However, the development of these ideas is quite limited. For instance, the description of the book is vague, referring only to 'ups and downs' without naming the book or providing specific details about its plot or themes. The explanation of its influence is also somewhat repetitive and lacks depth. To reach a higher band, you should provide more specific examples or concrete details about the book's content and a more nuanced explanation of how it changed your perspective.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into short paragraphs, which is appropriate for the task. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat disjointed. The use of cohesive devices is basic and occasionally mechanical, such as 'To begin with' and 'Moreover'. Some sentences are run-on or lack clear logical connections, making the flow feel slightly choppy. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence logically follows the previous one to create a smoother narrative flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You rely on simple, repetitive language such as 'really' and 'perfect'. There are also some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'alot od ups and downs' (spelling error) and 'people all worldwide'. To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary related to literature and personal growth, and pay closer attention to word choice and spelling to ensure your writing sounds more natural and professional.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Issues include missing articles, incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'people really really frustrated' missing a verb), and punctuation errors, such as the lack of spaces after commas. These errors occasionally hinder the clarity of your message. To improve, focus on basic sentence construction, subject-verb agreement, and proofreading for punctuation and spelling mistakes. Increasing the variety of your sentence structures while maintaining accuracy will help you achieve a higher score.

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

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