Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-05

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,

As a native of Punjab, I love to read Punjabi books, and one of your books, titled "1984 Punjab," influenced me a lot.

This book was all about the division of Punjab and Pakistan, which is now known as Upper Punjab and Lower Punjab. There was a chunk of information about fake leaders and inconvenient actions taken by them against normal citizens.

When the book started, it was only written about the life of Punjabi people before the year 1984, but after the fight started in 1984, the story turned its way. Owing to this, my interest in it reached its peak, and I was not able to stop reading about it.

Learning about my own culture from this book was amazing, but it would also influence other communities to fight for their will and achieve their freedom. I will suggest everyone read this book so the culture of my state in India will spread all over the world. I will wait for your response to suggest a similar book.

Yours faithfully

Prabhjot Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the task. You described the book's subject matter, explained its personal impact, and discussed its potential influence on others. The tone is generally 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 that your interest 'reached its peak,' but you do not elaborate on how this changed your perspective or personal growth. Expanding on these points with more specific details would help move your response into a higher band.

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 specific aspect of the prompt. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'Owing to this' and 'but,' to link ideas. However, the transition between the description of the book and your personal reaction could be smoother. Additionally, some sentences feel slightly disjointed, and the use of cohesive devices is occasionally mechanical. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring a more natural flow between sentences would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'native,' 'inconvenient actions,' and 'communities.' There are some instances of slightly unnatural phrasing, such as 'one of your books' (implying the magazine published it) and 'the story turned its way.' While your meaning is always clear, the vocabulary is somewhat basic and lacks the precision or idiomatic quality required for higher bands. To improve, focus on using more sophisticated collocations and precise adjectives to describe your feelings and the book's impact.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'it was only written about the life' (passive voice misuse) and 'I will suggest everyone read' (missing 'that' or 'to'). Punctuation is generally correct, but some sentence structures are slightly awkward, which occasionally forces the reader to pause. While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more consistent control over complex structures and prepositional usage to reach a higher band.

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

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