Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-13

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,

I am writing in response to the headline in a magazine where readers can contribute for next article. The topic is about 'the book that influenced the most', therefore, I would like to write about a cookery book that inspired me the most to learn basic cooking skills.

The book is written by a woman who would like to teach cooking through her book. The first few chapters explain everything about basic cooking skills, such as how to use the burner and different types of tongs. The more people read, they will learn culiniary skills from basic to intermediate level. Additionally, readers can write to author if any confusion persists in the kitchen and she always replies within a week.

Moreover, I have been following the book from last couple of months and ,now, I have mastered in baking cupcakes ,muffins and pastries. The optimistic approach from the book influenced me to open my own bakery shop.

As it helped me to gain confidence about culinary skills. I, believe that people with hectic schedule can easily achieve master in culinary skills by following the book in their leisure time.

I appreciate you for considering my contribution for your next article.

Yours faithfully,

Aastha

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response effectively covers all three bullet points required by the task prompt. You successfully describe what the cookery book is about, explaining that it focuses on basic cooking skills like using burners and tongs. You also explain how the book influenced you by inspiring you to master baking and eventually open your own bakery shop. Furthermore, you briefly address whether it would influence others by suggesting that busy people can easily achieve culinary mastery in their leisure time. The tone is appropriate for a magazine letter, and the purpose is clear throughout. Minor gaps remain in fully developing the third bullet point, as the generalisation about other people is somewhat brief, which places this performance solidly at Band 7.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter follows a clear overall progression, using appropriate paragraphing to separate the introduction, the book's description, its personal influence, its potential impact on others, and the sign-off. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Additionally', and 'As it helped me' are used to connect ideas, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical. There is a minor punctuation error in referencing ('and ,now, I have mastered'), but referencing between paragraphs remains generally clear and logical, enabling the reader to follow your narrative smoothly without confusion. This performance aligns well with the Band 7 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate and sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms like 'optimistic approach', 'intermediate level', 'leisure time', and 'culinary skills'. However, there are a few noticeable spelling and word choice inaccuracies, such as 'culiniary' instead of 'culinary', and the awkward phrase 'achieve master in culinary skills' instead of 'master culinary skills'. While these lexical slips occur, they do not impede overall communication. The vocabulary chosen is functional and fits the general requirements of the task, though aiming for more precise collocation will help elevate future writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

Your writing displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, with attempts at relative clauses and conditional-style ideas. However, there are several grammatical errors and punctuation awkwardness, such as the sentence fragment starting with 'As it helped me to gain confidence about culinary skills' which should be joined to the following sentence. Additionally, comma placement is occasionally erratic, as seen in 'from last couple of months and ,now,'. Despite these errors, the meaning remains mostly clear and communication is rarely impeded. You demonstrate good control over basic structures, but greater accuracy in complex sentence construction is needed for a higher band.

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

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