Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-28

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,

I hope you are doing well. I have been thinking about your proposal in which you have asked for contributions from your magazine readers. Few months back I have read a book that really influenced me in a positive way.

The name of the book was "How to control your mind". As an over thinker, I really needed this book. It is all about mind game. This book teaches you how to stop overthinking and how to react on other people's opinion. This book gives you few tips to control negative thoughts. On the top of that it really helps the individual to built self confidence.

I remember that few months back, I was going through a tough situation. I was being judged by people. Then one of my friend gave me this book. After reading it, I have a control on my thoughts. Whenever I feel stress, I always follow the tips suggested in the book. Moreover, I learnt one thing, we cannot let our happiness depends on other's opinion.

I personally believe that this book would influence other people too, especially who are over thinkers. It will give them a motive to live happy life.

I hope you will like my story. If you need any additional information, please feel free to contact me. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Rimple Sharma

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses 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. The ideas are relevant and clearly presented, though the description of the book's content is somewhat brief and could have been developed with more specific examples of the 'tips' mentioned. However, the letter successfully communicates the personal impact of the book, fulfilling the requirements of the prompt effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each serving a distinct purpose. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Whenever', and 'On the top of that' are used to link sentences, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The use of referencing is generally clear, and the overall structure follows the standard conventions of a formal letter, which helps the reader navigate the text without difficulty.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their thoughts clearly. There are some attempts at less common collocations, such as 'going through a tough situation' and 'negative thoughts'. However, there are minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'built self confidence' (should be 'build') and 'react on' (should be 'react to'). While the range is sufficient, it lacks the precision and sophistication required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb tenses and prepositions. Examples include 'Few months back I have read' (should be 'A few months ago I read'), 'we cannot let our happiness depends' (should be 'depend'), and 'especially who are over thinkers' (should be 'especially for those who are overthinkers'). These errors are noticeable but do not impede communication.

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

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