Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-31

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 order to contribute for the campaign from your magazine stated as 'The book that influenced me most'.

This book goes by name 'Harry Potter', written by J.K. Rowling. It is based on mythical world, where some teenage students, who are still learning magic, fight against powerful wizard consumed with evil. This book is divided into seven parts and each book uncovers new secrets and bring heroes close to ending the villian. The way it builds up character and expands its magical world, influenced me the most.

I personally believe that it has and will continue to influence younger generation, as it is filled with adventure, folktale and bond of friendship, which teaches us what real friends are and why they always have each other's backs.

With regards,

kanchana

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points: describing the book, explaining its influence, and discussing its potential impact on others. However, the response is under the 150-word minimum, which limits the depth of development. The explanation of how the book influenced you is somewhat brief and could have been expanded with more personal reflection or specific examples of how the themes changed your perspective. Because the response is under-length, the development of ideas is restricted, preventing it from reaching a higher band. To improve, ensure you expand on your personal experiences and provide more detailed explanations for each bullet point to comfortably exceed the word count requirement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction and body paragraphs. The progression of ideas is easy to follow, moving from the book's description to its personal impact and then to its broader influence. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat limited and occasionally mechanical. For example, the transition between the description of the book and its influence could be smoother. Paragraphing is used, but the overall structure feels a bit sparse due to the brevity of the text. Using a wider variety of linking words and phrases would help improve the flow and coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the range and precision required for a higher band. Phrases like 'goes by name' and 'consumed with evil' are understandable but slightly unnatural. There are also minor errors in word choice, such as 'contribute for the campaign' instead of 'contribute to the campaign'. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary and idiomatic expressions that are appropriate for a formal letter to an editor. Focus on using more precise collocations to express your ideas more naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response shows a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical inaccuracies. For instance, 'contribute for the campaign from your magazine stated as' is awkward, and 'It is based on mythical world' is missing an article ('a'). Additionally, 'bring heroes close to ending the villian' contains a spelling error ('villian' should be 'villain') and a subject-verb agreement issue ('bring' should be 'brings'). Increasing the variety of complex structures while ensuring accuracy in articles, prepositions, and verb forms will significantly improve your score in this criterion.

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