Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-09

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 5.0)

Dear Sir,

I am writing to inform you that I moved to the apartment number 38 in the downtown building on 25th July last week. I like my rented house because it is equipped with advanced technical appliances and because of its warm and welcoming environment. However, the family living upstairs is quite noisy during the midnight.

They play music at a very high volume at night and it continues for three to four hours. It is clearly heard to me and disrupts my sleep. As a result, it gives me headache which inturn affects my efficiency at work negatively. I have requested them multiple times, but nothing worked out.

I kindly request you to talk with my neighbours. If this situation continues, I would suggest that a written notice should be given to them. I also want you to remind them the terms and conditions mentioned in the rental agreement regarding the disruptive noise made at night time. Otherwise, strict action should be taken against them.

I look forward for your prompt response and a swift resolution to this matter.

Yours faithfully,

Jasreen

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 1.0

The response is completely off-topic. The task instructions specifically asked for a letter to a magazine editor about a book that influenced you most. Instead, you wrote a letter to a landlord regarding a noise complaint about neighbors. Because you failed to address any of the three bullet points (describing the book, explaining its influence, and discussing its impact on others), the response fails to meet the requirements of the task. In an actual IELTS examination, this would be considered a memorized or irrelevant response, resulting in a very low score for Task Achievement as the prompt was ignored entirely.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized as a formal complaint, with clear paragraphing and appropriate opening and closing salutations. You use cohesive devices such as 'However', 'As a result', and 'If this situation continues' to link your ideas effectively. While the content is irrelevant to the prompt, the structure of the letter itself is coherent and follows the standard conventions of a formal letter. The progression of ideas from the introduction of the problem to the requested action is logical and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to express your ideas clearly. Phrases such as 'advanced technical appliances', 'disrupts my sleep', and 'swift resolution' are used accurately. There are some minor collocation issues, such as 'during the midnight' (should be 'at midnight' or 'during the night') and 'gives me headache' (should be 'gives me a headache'). Despite these minor errors, the vocabulary is adequate to convey your message effectively, showing a good grasp of formal register.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'I look forward for your prompt response' (should be 'look forward to'), 'remind them the terms' (should be 'remind them of the terms'), and 'inturn' (should be 'in turn'). However, these errors do not impede communication. You show an ability to use complex structures, such as conditional sentences ('If this situation continues, I would suggest...'), although the control is not entirely consistent. The punctuation is generally correct throughout the letter.

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

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