Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing you this letter regarding the book I read last month. Although there are many books in the market,but "Rich dad Poor dad' has influenced a lot. This book describe about the financial things.How wealthy people use their mind and money to change the value of share markets. This fluctuation impact the majority of traders in negative way.

As there are many things to learn in this book,but the tricks and skills mention in the book to know about stocks and their trap, in which most of the traders are stuck. This changes my way of thinking to understand the market and helped me to become a profitable trader.

I believe this book can help to many people of different age groups, who wants to make wealth in smart way. In addition. It also benefit them to figure out their weak points.I personally recomend this book.

I hope this letter helps you to add something valuable.

Your Faithfully,

Ravi Ravi

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. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the description of the book's content is vague, referring to 'financial things' and 'share markets' without providing a clear summary of the book's core message. To reach a higher band, you should provide more specific details about the book's themes and offer a more thorough explanation of how it specifically changed your perspective or actions. The tone is appropriate for a magazine contribution, but the content lacks the depth required for a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, the use of 'Although' followed by 'but' in the first paragraph is grammatically incorrect and disrupts the flow. Additionally, some sentences are fragmented, such as 'In addition. It also benefit them...', where the punctuation creates an unnecessary break. While there is a logical progression from the book's description to its influence and finally to your recommendation, the transitions between sentences could be smoother and more varied to improve the overall readability.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it is quite basic and repetitive. You rely on simple terms like 'things', 'tricks', and 'skills'. There are also some issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'describe about' (should be 'describes') and 'make wealth' (should be 'build wealth'). To improve, you should aim to use more precise terminology related to finance and personal development. While your meaning is generally clear, the lack of variety and the occasional errors in word formation prevent you from achieving a higher score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally impede the reader's understanding. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('This book describe', 'It also benefit'), incorrect sentence structure ('I am writing you this letter regarding...'), and punctuation errors, such as the misuse of commas and periods. You rely mostly on simple sentence structures, and your attempts at complex sentences often contain errors, such as the 'Although... but' construction. To improve, focus on mastering basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring that your sentences are complete and correctly punctuated.

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