Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-10

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 6.5)

Dear sir

I'm writing to recommend a book that has had a significant influence life.The book is the Alchemist nay Coelho, which I read a few years ago.

The book is about a young shepherd name Santiago who dream of finding a hidden treasure.he decides to leave his comfortable life and travel to different place in search off his dream During his journey lesson about courage, patience hard work and following his dreams.

The book influenced me greatly because it changed the way I thing about my goals and difficulties. Before reading it, I often worries about failure and was reluctant to take risks.The story taught me that challenges are a natural part of achieving success and that people should not give up easily when they face problems. Since reading the book,I have become more confident and determined to work towards my ambitions

I believe this book could influence many another people, especially young adults who are uncertain about their future. Its message about following your dreams and learning form lifes challenges bis inspiring and relevant to everyone.

yours faithfully,

charls wilson

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly describe the book, explain its influence on your personal development, and provide a logical argument for why it would influence others. The tone is appropriate for a magazine contribution. To reach a higher band, ensure that your ideas are slightly more developed; for instance, you could provide a more specific example of a 'difficulty' you faced and how the book helped you overcome it, rather than keeping the explanation at a general level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each focusing on a specific requirement of the task. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat limited. You rely heavily on simple sentence structures and lack a variety of linking words or transition phrases (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'in addition'). Improving the flow between sentences by using a wider range of cohesive devices would enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'significant influence', 'reluctant', and 'ambitions'. However, there are several spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'nay' instead of 'by', 'thing' instead of 'think', 'worries' instead of 'worried', and 'form' instead of 'from'. These errors are noticeable but do not impede communication. To improve, focus on proofreading for common typos and expanding your use of collocations to sound more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentences, but there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation. Examples include missing articles ('the Alchemist'), subject-verb agreement issues ('Santiago who dream'), and incorrect verb forms ('I often worries'). Additionally, there are several instances of missing or incorrect punctuation, such as the lack of capitalization after periods and missing commas. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they occur frequently enough to limit your score in this criterion.

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

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