Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-29

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 6.0)

Dear Editor,

I am writing this letter to inform you that there are lots of books that have influenced me in my life. However, one of them is my favourite one that called "The Way of Success".

The book is written by the famous author from my province, Mr. Patel. Who wrote too many books. But The Way of Success was published in 2024. This book contains the path to being a successful person, along with some real examples of successful businessmen as well as politicians.

What I want to talk about is how the book personally influenced me through the way it describes the paths to success. They use some very motivational phrases in the book that inspired me a unbelieavable. One of them is that no shortcut leads to Success.

I believe that this book have very much potential that can change tons of youngsters' lives like mine. This book would be the best guidance for those who just graduated and are starting their journey in the real world.

Thank you for considering me.

Yours faithfully,

Abhay

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: describing the book, explaining its influence, and discussing its potential impact on others. The tone is appropriate for a magazine contribution. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For example, when you mention that the book influenced you, you provide only one brief quote as evidence. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your personal reflection or provide more specific details about how the book changed your perspective or actions. The structure is clear, and the purpose of the letter is evident throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into paragraphs, each focusing on a specific part of the prompt. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'However', 'One of them', and 'In addition' (implied). While the flow is generally easy to follow, the transition between sentences can sometimes feel a bit mechanical. To improve, try to use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that referencing (e.g., 'this book', 'one of them') is always precise to avoid any ambiguity. The paragraphing is appropriate for a formal letter format.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. You use some relevant terms like 'motivational phrases', 'guidance', and 'successful businessmen'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'inspired me a unbelieavable' (should be 'inspired me unbelievably') and 'have very much potential' (should be 'has a lot of potential'). Additionally, the repetition of 'book' and 'success' suggests a need for more synonyms to demonstrate a more flexible range of vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. Examples include sentence fragments ('Who wrote too many books.'), subject-verb agreement issues ('this book have'), and incorrect word forms ('inspired me a unbelieavable'). These errors do not significantly impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring that relative clauses are attached to the main clause would significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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