Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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,

I hope you are doing well.I am writing this letter to you regarding the book I read and find particularly interesting about the historical focus.

This novel is named as 'Sundri' written by Bhai Bir Singh.This book contains the famous historical concept of the difficult time facing by the woman named sundri and how she took over the fear and face challenges with determination and hard work to live her life with self respect in those time period.

The book influenced me because it taught me that we should remain strong and stay true to our values regardless of any circumstances.I also became more interested in Punjabi literature and history after reading this book.

I believe this novel would be great influence to people especially the women to gain confidence, self respect and equality.It would be beneficial for the people to achieve the development in every field and also increase their knowledge about the history and culture.

I hope you will consider my contribution in your magazine.

Yours Faithfully,

Suman

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly describe the book 'Sundri', explain its personal impact regarding your values and interest in Punjabi literature, and provide a logical argument for why it would influence others. The tone is appropriate for a magazine contribution. To reach a higher band, you could expand slightly on the specific 'challenges' the protagonist faced to provide more depth to your description, as the current explanation is somewhat generalized. However, all parts of the task are covered well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter follows a logical structure, with each paragraph addressing a specific requirement of the prompt. The progression of ideas is clear. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat limited and occasionally mechanical. For instance, you rely heavily on simple sentence structures to connect ideas. Using a wider variety of linking words (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'in addition to this') would improve the flow between sentences and paragraphs. Paragraphing is present and appropriate for a letter format.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'determination', 'circumstances', and 'literature' correctly. There are some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'difficult time facing by the woman' (should be 'faced by') and 'great influence to people' (should be 'great influence on people'). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the flexibility and precision required for higher bands. Attempting more sophisticated collocations would enhance your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'This novel is named as' (should be 'is titled' or 'is called'), 'in those time period' (should be 'in that time period'), and missing articles or incorrect prepositions. Punctuation is generally functional, though there are some spacing issues after periods. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles, as these errors occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score.

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

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