Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-18

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 or Madam,

I am writing to express my satisfaction regarding a book 'How to talk to people' that I read recently and how this book helped me to evolve.

For the past 2 weeks, I have been reading a book based on communication skills and how a person could be liked by others. This book has real-life experiences expressing the lack of confidence when talking to other people and not getting liked by them. The book has 23 chapters with 389 pages describing multiple hard and easy phases of life when interacting with different people and how a person could be pleased and listen to other people.

This book has influenced me in a way that made me more confident and good listener. It does not just influence but also motivate to talk to people in manners and humorously. Additionally, this book also helped me in regulating the amount of speech including different ways to become a good partner or friend.

I think this book would also influence other people who does not have courage to face people because of their bad communication skills and speaking without thinking.

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to express my thoughts for the book and I hope my article would be published soon. I look forward to your response.

Yours faithfully,

Ashu Berwal

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task: describing the book, explaining its influence, and discussing its potential impact on others. The tone is appropriate for a magazine contribution. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, when describing the book, you focus on its physical attributes (number of pages and chapters) rather than delving deeper into the core themes or specific lessons. To reach a higher band, ensure that your explanations are more detailed and insightful. The response is clear and the purpose of the letter is evident throughout, meeting the requirements of the prompt effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each serving a distinct purpose. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Additionally' and 'For the past 2 weeks' to link ideas. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes a bit mechanical. For example, the transition between the book's description and its influence could be smoother. Referencing is generally clear, but there are instances where the connection between ideas could be more sophisticated. Overall, the structure is easy to follow, and the progression of information is logical, which is sufficient for a solid band 6.5 or 7.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'communication skills', 'regulating', and 'confidence'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For example, 'how a person could be pleased and listen to other people' is slightly unnatural; 'pleased' is likely not the intended meaning here. Similarly, 'talk to people in manners' is vague. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and idiomatic expressions. While your vocabulary is sufficient to convey your message clearly, it lacks the flexibility and precision required for higher band scores.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that persist. For example, 'who does not have courage' should be 'who do not have the courage' (subject-verb agreement and article usage). You also have minor issues with prepositions and word forms, such as 'not just influence but also motivate' which should be 'not only influences but also motivates'. Despite these errors, they rarely impede communication. Increasing the variety of complex structures and proofreading for subject-verb agreement would help improve your score.

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

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