Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-11

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/Madam

I am writing this letter to the editor of the magazine to tell you that the

book influenced me the most.

The name of the book was The Precious Present. The book was about a couple who helped each other in their difficult times. They knew each other's wishes and wanted to gift each other, but because of financial problems they could not afford it.

Then, they sold their favourite things so that they could buy presents for each other. This influenced me so much as how they care and love one another.

This book would be liked by other people, especially couples as it could increase love between them and teach them the value of each other's wishes or needs.

Yours faithfully,

Jot

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses all three bullet points of the prompt: describing the book, explaining its influence, and discussing its potential impact on others. However, the response is significantly under the 150-word minimum requirement, which limits the depth of the ideas. The description of the book is quite brief, and the explanation of how it influenced you lacks specific detail or personal reflection. To improve, you should expand on your personal connection to the story and provide more concrete examples of how the book changed your perspective or behavior. Because the length requirement was not met, the development of ideas is insufficient for a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical structure, beginning with an introduction, moving through the required points, and ending with a standard closing. However, the paragraphing is underdeveloped; the entire body of the letter is essentially one block of text. The use of cohesive devices is very limited, relying mostly on simple conjunctions like 'and' or 'but'. To achieve a higher score, you should use a wider variety of linking words (e.g., 'furthermore', 'consequently', 'in addition') to connect your ideas more fluidly and ensure that each paragraph focuses on a single, well-developed point.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task but remains quite basic. Phrases like 'helped each other' and 'financial problems' are functional but lack the sophistication expected at higher levels. There is little attempt to use less common lexical items or idiomatic expressions. To improve, try to incorporate more precise adjectives and verbs that convey your feelings more vividly. For example, instead of saying the book 'influenced me so much', you could describe it as 'profoundly impacted my outlook' or 'left an indelible impression on me'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are noticeable errors. For instance, 'the book influenced me the most' is slightly awkward in this context, and 'as how they care' is grammatically incorrect. There are also minor punctuation and phrasing issues throughout. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to suggest a lack of control over more complex structures. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and refining your use of relative clauses would help improve your accuracy and range.

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

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