Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to contribute my thoughts regarding a fictional book that influenced me the most, for the article in your prestigious magazine, The Today.

Firstly, the book, 2 States, written by Chetan Bhagat is a fictional love story. Although it is a hypothetical story, the depth of the story and its characters made it extremely interesting. The primary reason that influenced me the most is that two people from different culture and places can become a good friends, while having various differences in their living style and language. It taught me a lesson that all human being are same and equal; even though they have different culture or religion.

I would appreciate it if you could add a reference of this particular book in the article, so others would be likely to influence.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your prompt response.

Yours sincerely,

Surinder

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task. You described the book '2 States', explained its influence regarding cultural understanding, and touched upon its potential to influence others. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation of how the book influenced you is brief, and the final point regarding its influence on others is underdeveloped. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your personal reflections and provide more specific reasons why the book would be impactful for a wider audience. The tone is appropriate for a letter to an editor.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical structure with a clear opening and closing. Paragraphing is used to separate the introduction from the main body, which helps the reader follow your points. You use some cohesive devices like 'Firstly' and 'Although', but the transitions between sentences could be smoother. At times, the connection between ideas feels slightly mechanical. To improve, try to use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that each paragraph flows naturally into the next, avoiding repetitive sentence structures.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'fictional', 'prestigious', and 'consideration'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'add a reference of this particular book' (instead of 'recommend this book') and 'others would be likely to influence' (which is grammatically incomplete; it should be 'others would be likely to be influenced'). The vocabulary is functional but lacks the precision and sophistication required for higher bands. Expanding your use of collocations would significantly improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'all human being are same' (should be 'all human beings are the same') and 'two people from different culture' (should be 'cultures'). Additionally, the phrase 'others would be likely to influence' is missing a passive construction. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and pluralization will help improve your accuracy.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.