Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Dear Sir,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing this letter to share my insights about the book which influenced me the most and I want it to be preached by more and more people.

To begin with, recently, a couple of months back I came across this book called IKIGAI, from Penguin publication house. The book explains about the Japanese culture, it's core values and traditions on 'How to pursuit Happiness in simplest way of living'. The most interesting part about reading this book is the more you read the more it will gravitate your interest into it.

Furthermore, I was astounded by the one true example with a beautiful illustration on how people find joy in redecorating broken invaluable items with a magnificent abstract design by making a comparison with real-life situation.

Therefore, I request you to kindly include article of this book in the magazine as I firmly believe the book has the potential to touch thousands of hearts with its meaningful messages.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Regards,

Hannah Shah

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task. You described the book 'IKIGAI', explained its influence, and suggested its potential impact on others. However, the development of these points is somewhat limited. For instance, while you mention the book's influence, you do not clearly explain how it personally changed your perspective or actions, which would have made the response more engaging. The final bullet point regarding whether it would influence others is addressed, but could be expanded with more specific reasoning. Overall, the response is relevant and covers the requirements, but it lacks the depth of development expected for a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical structure with a clear opening and closing. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, the description of the book, the personal reflection, and the final request. You use some cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'Therefore' to link your ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For example, the connection between the description of the book and the personal example in the third paragraph is a bit abrupt. Overall, the information is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using words like 'astounded', 'invaluable', and 'magnificent'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For example, 'preached by more and more people' is not the most natural phrasing in this context; 'recommended to' or 'read by' would be better. Similarly, 'pursuit Happiness' should be 'pursue happiness'. While your vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, there is a lack of precision and some awkward phrasing that prevents a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors throughout the text, such as 'it's core values' (should be 'its'), 'gravitate your interest into it' (which is non-standard), and 'include article of this book' (missing an article: 'an article'). Additionally, 'How to pursuit Happiness' contains a verb form error. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to suggest a lack of control over more complex structures. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct article usage will help improve your accuracy.

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