Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-30

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 Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter in response to the article you posted last week to suggest a book that influence me the most. I would like to talk about "The Zahir" written by famous Brazilian author named Paulo Coelho.

This is love story related to the couples who had lived together for ten years. Suddenly, one day the wife disappeared and moved far away from her husband. In search of his beloved wife, the man does find some ways to look for her with the help of strangers to whom his wife has met before. Finally, he finds her and get her back to live together again. I found it so fascinating because it teaches about the care for the loved ones.

This book is influential for me and I believe it is appealing to others, especially adults. It explains the importance of the relationships and the hardships one has to go through in a married life. Additionally, the importance of the sacrifices for the loved ones.

I hope you would love this book and include it in your upcoming magazine.

Yours faithfully,

Arshdeep Singh

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 letter to an editor. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For example, when explaining how the book influenced you, you state it teaches 'care for the loved ones' and 'importance of the relationships,' but these points are not fully expanded upon with personal reflection or specific examples. To reach a higher band, aim to provide more depth in your explanations to show the reader exactly how the book changed your perspective or actions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. Each paragraph focuses on a distinct part of the prompt, which helps the reader follow your ideas. You use some basic cohesive devices like 'Additionally' and 'Finally.' However, the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider range of linking words and better referencing. Some transitions feel a bit mechanical. To improve, try to vary your cohesive devices and ensure that the relationship between ideas is explicitly stated to create a smoother, more natural progression throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using words like 'fascinating,' 'appealing,' and 'hardships.' However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For instance, you write 'the man does find some ways to look for her' and 'to whom his wife has met before,' which are slightly unnatural. Additionally, there is a minor grammatical error in the first sentence ('influence' instead of 'influenced'). To achieve a higher score, focus on using more precise collocations and ensure that your vocabulary choices are consistently accurate and natural in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. However, there are several recurring grammatical errors that affect the accuracy of your writing. Examples include 'This is love story' (missing article), 'the couples who had lived' (incorrect pluralization), and 'get her back to live together' (awkward phrasing). While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement, article usage, and tense consistency, particularly when summarizing the plot of a book.

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

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