Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-20

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 share the insights of the book I recently read called 'Habits', to supplement the article 'The book that influenced me most' to be published.

The 'Habits' is a highly motivational book, including several instances of real lives of people where they felt depressed and demotivated due to bad habits. The book accounts for the detailed practices performed by the individuals to overcome their shortcomings; eventually, help them in achieving successful life.

When I read about the real-life events, and the struggles those people have been through, it changed my perspective completely. Now, I pay intensive attention on my daily routine, actions, and the way of living. Moreover, I have learned about the importance of good habits in a person's life and how to create new habits; simultaneously, decimate old bad habits.

I would highly recommend this book for your other audiences as it possess actual and practical ways of overcoming the bad habits and provide good enough reasons to lead a happy life.

I hope you would consider my contribution worthy enough to include in the article, and I request you to please contact me for any other information on the book.

Kind regards,

Nishant Shrivastava

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly described the book, explained its personal influence, and provided a recommendation for others. The tone is appropriate for a letter to an editor. To reach a higher band, you could provide more specific examples of how the book's content directly translated into a change in your life, rather than general statements like 'pay intensive attention on my daily routine'. The ideas are relevant and the purpose of the letter is clear throughout.

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. You use cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'simultaneously', and 'eventually' to link ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For instance, the transition between the book's description and its influence could be more fluid. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate and the progression of ideas is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task. Phrases like 'supplement the article' and 'decimate old bad habits' show an attempt to use more sophisticated language. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For example, 'decimate' is usually used for large-scale destruction rather than personal habits, and 'good enough reasons' is slightly informal. Additionally, 'possess' should be 'possesses' to agree with the singular subject 'book'. Expanding your range of collocations would help improve this score.

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. For example, 'The 'Habits' is a highly motivational book' should not have 'The' before the title. You also have issues with subject-verb agreement ('it possess' should be 'it possesses') and preposition usage ('attention on' should be 'attention to'). There are also some minor punctuation and article errors. To improve, focus on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and ensuring correct article usage.

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

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