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 or Madam,

I am writing to recommend a remarkable book that has had a great influence on my life. After read your request for contributions for your article, a book called" The Power Of The Subconscious Mind" came to mind.

This is book is a about how our mind works, and how the subconscious mind influences conscious mind and our reactions over different situations. Its detailed explanations teaches how to control overthinking and avoid negative thoughts. It demonstrates clearly that sometimes human mind can create fears and worries that are not based on reality.

This book has significantly changed my personality and outlook on life. Unlike in past, I now try to focus more on positive aspects of life rather than constantly worrying about negative consequences. It has also helped me become confident and develop a positive attitude towards every challenge.

I would definitely recommend this book to the people, particularly to adults who are often stressed about career, family or children. It will help them to understand their though pattern and avoid dwelling on unrealistic worries. As a result, it may help them to reduce stress and increase their motivation to achieve personal and professional goals.

I hope this book is suitable for your article and your readers will benefits from it.

Yours sincerely,

Rahul

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have fully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You described the book's content, explained its personal influence, and provided a clear recommendation for others. The tone is appropriate for a magazine contribution, and the letter format is maintained throughout. The ideas are well-developed and relevant, showing a clear understanding of the task requirements. To reach a higher band, you could aim for slightly more sophisticated development of your ideas, perhaps by providing a specific example of a situation where the book's principles were applied in your daily life.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the prompt, which makes the text easy to follow. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'This is', 'Unlike in past', and 'As a result' to connect your sentences. While the flow is generally smooth, the use of linking words is somewhat repetitive. To improve, try to incorporate a wider variety of cohesive devices, such as 'consequently', 'furthermore', or 'in light of this', to create a more sophisticated flow between your arguments.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'subconscious mind', 'outlook on life', and 'unrealistic worries'. However, there are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'After read your request' (should be 'reading') and 'control overthinking' (should be 'control over overthinking' or 'manage overthinking'). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise control over word forms and collocations to reach the higher bands.

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 several grammatical slips, such as 'This is book is a about' (extra 'is' and 'a'), 'teaches how to control' (subject-verb agreement error, should be 'teach'), and 'Unlike in past' (missing article 'the'). Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout. To improve, focus on proofreading for small errors like articles and subject-verb agreement, and try to vary your sentence structure further by using more complex clauses.

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

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