Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-03

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 5.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to inform you about a book Atomic Habits that influenced me a lot.

I was gifted Atomic Habits book from my cousin on my last birthday. This book is very helpful in personal development. James clear is the author of the book. We can find out several activities about day-to-day life habits which are very interesting and informative.

I have been reading this book from past six months and i follow all the activity from different parts of the book. These activities have influenced me to adapt only good habits for self development. In one instance, i was able to remove procrastination from my daily life and add daily exercise. This is one of the biggest growth in my life.

It would be grateful if people read this book for adopting good habits. At the end of the book, you can subscribe James clear email, which is providing motivational thoughts on every Thursday that can definitely help anyone to become successful.

Please let me know if you require any further information.

Yours faithfully,

Tez

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed 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 letter to an editor. However, the development of ideas is somewhat basic. For instance, while you mention that the book helped you remove procrastination, providing a more specific example of how the book's techniques were applied would have strengthened the response. The ideas are relevant, but they could be expanded with more detail to fully satisfy the requirements for a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each serving a distinct purpose. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'In one instance' and 'At the end of the book', to guide the reader. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes a bit mechanical, and the use of linking words could be more varied. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the overall structure is easy to follow, which helps the reader understand your message without confusion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You use a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your meaning clearly. Words like 'procrastination', 'informative', and 'personal development' are used correctly. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'biggest growth' (a better choice would be 'significant improvement') and 'subscribe James clear email' (which should be 'subscribe to James Clear's email list'). The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'I was gifted Atomic Habits book' (missing 'the'), 'from past six months' (should be 'for the past six months'), and the inconsistent capitalization of 'i' and 'James clear'. These errors are frequent enough to be noticeable but do not impede communication. To improve, focus on article usage, subject-verb agreement, and consistent capitalization.

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

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