Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-08

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 6.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this to share my views for an article called 'The book that influenced me most'.

To commence with, I would like to mention the book named 'Atomic habits' which has significantly changed my life in recent months. The books was about how making some changes in small habits could changed the way people think and live. This book influenced me in many ways. For example, there was a chapter in the book where writer mention their own story related to their family issues which he would be able to solve it by changing his routine habits .Moreover, I was impressed by writer's way of explaining his point of views by using good vocabulary and real facts. To add up more, there was a one thing which was quite fascinating for me that how I found so many similarities of some habits which he mentioned in the book and I also need to changed the in my real life.

I would definitely recommend this book to others and I must say that this book would likely to influence more readers.

I would be grateful for your consideration.

Yours faithfully,

Kajal Sharma.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly identify the book, explain its influence on your life, and provide a recommendation for others. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, when explaining how the book influenced you, the reference to the author's story is vague, and the explanation of how you applied these habits in your own life lacks specific detail. To improve, try to provide a concrete example of a specific habit you changed or a specific outcome you achieved. This would make your response more persuasive and fully developed, moving it toward a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical structure, beginning with an introduction and moving through the required points. You use some cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'Moreover', and 'To add up more'. However, some of these transitions feel slightly mechanical or unnatural, such as 'To add up more'. Additionally, the paragraphing is quite dense; splitting the response into distinct paragraphs for each bullet point would improve the visual flow and readability. The referencing is generally clear, though some sentence structures are slightly repetitive, which affects the overall flow of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'significantly', 'fascinating', and 'routine habits'. There are some minor errors in word choice and form, such as 'writer mention' instead of 'the writer mentions' and 'changed the in my real life' which is grammatically incomplete. While you attempt to use some descriptive language, the vocabulary remains somewhat basic. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and ensuring that word forms (e.g., nouns vs. verbs) are used accurately in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include 'The books was about' (subject-verb agreement), 'could changed' (incorrect verb form after a modal), and 'this book would likely to influence' (missing the verb 'be'). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they indicate a lack of control over complex structures. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct verb tense usage will significantly improve your accuracy and 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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