Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 contribute to your magazine forthcoming article, the book influnce me most " this book greatest impact on my life is the money easy by dr doom .

First one, the novel tells the story to japan , a ypung shepherd who dreams of discovering a hidden talent money making sharp, fearless , he encounters several people who teach him valuable lesson about without any degree how to make money fast in 20s . although, the story is fictional , its message is highly relevant to real life , particularly the importance to taking risk and remaining when you facing difficulties in fainacial

the book has influence me profoundly because it change the way of thing to money.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the development of the ideas. While you addressed the three bullet points—describing the book, explaining its influence, and discussing its potential impact on others—the content is underdeveloped and lacks the necessary detail to fully satisfy the task. The explanation of how the book influenced you is very brief and lacks specific examples or depth. To improve, you must expand on your points with more descriptive language and personal reflection to ensure the letter is substantial enough to meet the length requirement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter lacks a clear structure and logical progression. While you attempted to use a paragraph break, the text is fragmented and the flow between sentences is disjointed. There is a lack of cohesive devices to link ideas together, making the writing feel like a collection of isolated sentences rather than a coherent letter. The opening and closing are also incomplete or informal. To improve, focus on using transition words like 'furthermore,' 'consequently,' or 'in addition' to connect your thoughts, and ensure each paragraph has a clear, singular focus.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is quite limited and there are frequent errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'influnce' instead of 'influence' and 'fainacial' instead of 'financial.' The phrasing is often unnatural, such as 'the money easy' and 'the way of thing to money.' These errors occasionally impede the reader's understanding. To reach a higher band, you should work on using more precise vocabulary related to books and personal development, and ensure you are using correct collocations (e.g., 'taking risks' rather than 'taking risk').

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The grammar is weak, with frequent errors in sentence structure, subject-verb agreement, and punctuation. For example, 'the novel tells the story to japan' is grammatically incorrect, and there are missing articles and incorrect verb forms throughout. The sentences are mostly simple, and the lack of complex structures limits your ability to express more sophisticated ideas. To improve, focus on basic sentence construction, ensuring every sentence has a clear subject and verb, and practice using complex sentences with subordinating conjunctions like 'although' or 'because' more accurately.

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