Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-12

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 Editor,

I am writing in response to your request for readers contribution to the article 'The book that influenced me most'. The book that has had a greatest impact on my life is Anatolia by James David.

This book demonstrates the importance of positive inner thoughts of individuals. The author emphasizes of having an optimistic attitude towards personal growth. The ideas are supported by practical examples and scientific research that makes this book both engaging and interesting.

This book has influenced me most. I used to be a negative person who lacks confidence and always expect negative outcomes, which makes my life harder. However, this book taught me to overcome the negative feelings and remain optimistic even towards failure.

I believe this book could influence many other people. Nowadays, stress is becoming a common problem, as people tend to overthink and afraid of facing difficult situations. This book can help them to learn how to live life happily and remain positive to challenges circumstances.

I hope you find my recommendation useful.

Yours faithfully,

Harmeet

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all three bullet points of the prompt effectively. You clearly describe the book's content, explain its personal impact, and provide a logical justification for why it might influence others. The tone is appropriate for a magazine contribution. To reach a higher band, ensure that the explanation of the book's content is slightly more detailed; for instance, you mention 'scientific research' but could briefly elaborate on one specific concept from the book to make the ideas more fully developed and persuasive.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs for each prompt requirement, and a polite closing. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. You use some cohesive devices such as 'However' and 'Nowadays' to link ideas. To improve, try to vary your transitions further; for example, instead of starting multiple sentences with 'This book', use pronouns or synonyms like 'The text' or 'The author's work' to improve the flow and reduce repetitive sentence structures.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'optimistic attitude', 'personal growth', and 'overcome'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in collocation and word choice, such as 'emphasizes of having' (should be 'emphasizes having') and 'challenges circumstances' (should be 'challenging circumstances'). To achieve a higher score, focus on using more precise collocations and slightly more sophisticated vocabulary to express your ideas with greater nuance.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'readers contribution' (should be 'readers' contributions'), 'always expect' (should be 'always expected' to maintain tense consistency), and 'afraid of facing' (should be 'are afraid of facing'). These errors do not impede communication, but they do occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and maintaining consistent verb tenses throughout your writing.

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

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