Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-19

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)

I am writing to share my submission for your magazine's upcoming special feature, "The book that influenced me most" . The book profoundly shaped my perspective on personal growth and dedication is Wings of Fire, the autobiography of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.

The book details Dr. Kalam's humble beginnings in Rameswaram and his journey to becoming one of the India's most celebrated aerospace scientists and country's President. It focuses heavily on his early struggles, his mentors, and how teamwork, perserverances and deep faith guided his leadership during important national projects.

The autobiography influenced me deeply by redefining my view about failure. Dr. Kalam openly shares his setbacks , demonstrates that how failures are merely stepping stone towards success. Reading his journey taught me to how failures are help to learn many things that are necessary in life.

I feel that this book will also influence other people because everyone is busy to chase their dreams. Unfortunately, due to some reasons they are not able to reach their dreams. This book will help to motivate them.

Kinds Regards

Mehak Sharma

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points of the task. You clearly described the book, explained its personal influence, and provided a logical reason why it would influence others. The tone is appropriate for a magazine contribution. To reach a higher band, you could provide more specific examples of how the book's lessons were applied in your own life, rather than just stating that it redefined your view on failure. This would add more depth and personal connection to your response, ensuring the ideas are fully developed rather than just mentioned.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the prompt, which helps the reader follow your ideas easily. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'The book details' and 'The autobiography influenced me', to link your thoughts. However, the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and transition phrases between sentences. Currently, some transitions feel a bit mechanical. Improving the variety of these connectors would enhance the overall flow and coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your ideas clearly. Phrases like 'profoundly shaped', 'humble beginnings', and 'celebrated aerospace scientists' demonstrate a good command of language. There are some minor errors, such as 'perserverances' (spelling) and 'everyone is busy to chase' (collocation), but these do not impede communication. To improve, try to avoid repetitive phrasing and focus on more precise collocations. For instance, instead of saying 'failures are help to learn', you could use 'failures serve as valuable learning opportunities'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'one of the India's most' (article usage) and 'demonstrates that how failures are' (unnecessary 'that'). Additionally, the sentence 'Reading his journey taught me to how failures are help to learn' is structurally awkward. While these errors are noticeable, they do not prevent the reader from understanding your message. To improve, focus on proofreading for small errors in articles and prepositions, and practice using more complex sentence structures with greater accuracy.

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

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