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 this letter in regards to the upcoming public for your magazine. I'd like to share how the book Grey's Anatomy by Sara Sheldon has had a huge impact my life.

The book is based on a true story, revolves mainly around the personal and professional life of Dr. Merdith Grey. The writer gives a detailed account on how despite facing challenging circumstances, she showed bravery and resilience towards achieving her goals.

I read this book prior to starting my medical education. Her story motivated me to pursue this demanding field. I was intimidated by how stressful the journey to becoming a surgeon appears to be. But the insight into her journey and how she helped saving so many lives whilst managing her family life made her my role model. The way the book was written made if feel like I was reading a personal diary.

From my perspective, this book is highly beneficial particularly for those in the healthcare industry or studying Biology. The real life scenarios presented in the book provide deep insight on how to tackle different medical situations. However, the book uses some medical terminologies that may be difficult for others to understand.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Ben Smith

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student successfully addresses all three bullet points required in the prompt. The letter begins appropriately and clearly identifies the book 'Grey's Anatomy' by Sara Sheldon. The first bullet is covered by describing what the book is about, focusing on the professional and personal life of Dr. Meredith Grey. The second bullet is well-explained through personal reflection, noting how the book motivated the student to pursue a medical education despite initial intimidation. The third bullet is addressed by discussing its potential impact on people in the healthcare industry or studying biology, whilst acknowledging limitations regarding medical terminology. The ideas are relevant, well-developed, and fully fulfill the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is clearly structured with an appropriate greeting, well-defined body paragraphs covering distinct aspects of the prompt, and a polite sign-off. Information and ideas flow logically from introducing the book to personal influences and finally to its broader appeal. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate different points, such as the plot description in the second paragraph and personal motivation in the third. Cohesive devices are employed reasonably well, though transitions between paragraphs could occasionally be smoother. Overall, the organization supports clear progression and readability throughout the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student demonstrates an adequate to good range of vocabulary suitable for a general correspondence task. Phrases such as 'challenging circumstances', 'bravery and resilience', and 'healthcare industry' show a good command of topic-specific leexis. However, there are a few minor lexical and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'public' instead of 'publication' in the opening sentence, 'Merdith' instead of 'Meredith', and a slight grammatical slip 'made if feel' instead of 'made it feel'. Despite these occasional errors, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey precise meaning without impeding the reader's understanding.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The writing exhibits a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures. The student uses subordinate clauses effectively, as seen in structures like 'Her story motivated me to pursue this demanding field' and 'how she helped saving so many lives whilst managing her family life'. There are some minor grammatical errors, such as 'impact my life' missing the preposition 'on' and a slight gerund error in 'helped saving' instead of 'helped save'. However, these errors are relatively infrequent and do not impede communication. The punctuation is generally accurate and the tone remains appropriately formal and polite for a magazine editor.

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