Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-07

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 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam

The purpose of my writing today is to contribute in your upcoming article 'The book that influenced me most'.

I have read so many books in my life but the most powerful book, that changed my life completely, book name is 'You can win'. This book published by Edmonton publishers in 2025. The writer of this book is not a well know person but he has written numerous novels and books. This book is all about positive attitude towards life obstacles.

This book not only helped me to improve my personal life, but this book has also changed my professional life. Before reading this book, I used to think about solution of a problem. But this book taught me how to convert problems into opportunities.

I would like to suggest this book to those people who always try to avoid problems or try to find shortcuts in life. This book can help them to change their mindset toward problems and enhance their thinking ability and train their minds to work in a positive way in a hard situation.

Thank you for giving me opportunity to share my thoughts and experience for your article.

Yours Faithfully,

Jassmeet Singh,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly described the book 'You can win', explained its influence on your personal and professional life, and provided a recommendation for others. The tone is appropriate for a magazine contribution. To reach a higher band, ensure that your ideas are slightly more developed. For example, when you mention that the book taught you to 'convert problems into opportunities', providing a brief, concrete example of how you applied this in a real-life situation would have added more depth and personal engagement to your response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized with clear paragraphing, which helps the reader follow your ideas easily. Each paragraph has a distinct focus. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'Before reading this book' and 'not only... but also', to link your thoughts. However, the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of transition words and phrases to connect sentences more fluidly. At times, the connection between sentences feels slightly mechanical. Increasing the use of cohesive devices like 'consequently', 'furthermore', or 'in addition' would enhance the overall flow of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully conveying your message. You use some relevant terms like 'obstacles', 'mindset', and 'thinking ability'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies and repetitive phrasing, such as 'book name is' and 'well know person' (should be 'well-known'). To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated collocations and avoid repeating the word 'book' so frequently. Using synonyms or referencing the book as 'the work' or 'the publication' would demonstrate a more flexible and precise command of the language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. While your meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'The purpose of my writing today is to contribute in your upcoming article' (should be 'to' or 'for'), 'This book published by' (missing the passive auxiliary 'was'), and 'solution of a problem' (should be 'the solution to a problem'). These errors do not impede communication, but they do occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct preposition usage will help improve your accuracy.

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

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