Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-14

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 or Madam,

I am writing to contribute my favourite book which influenced me most in your magazine's article called diwaane bane pagal shehar mein.

The book name is shayar which is written by Indian famous poet Gulam ali khan and the book is all about how to start writing poetry and how get connected with your emotions and imaginations.

This book helped me a lot when I was in my graduation first year. I started writing poetry but after a certain point I reliazed new thoughts are not coming from my mind after that, I initiate reading this book and it helps me a lot to observe the surroundings and start writing on that as a result It give colours to my imagination.

This book can help each and every individual who start writing poetry,plays or movies and confused how to polish there talent.

Yours faithfuly,

Gourav saini

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response successfully covers all parts of the prompt. You state your intention to contribute to the magazine's article and successfully name the book 'Shayar' by Gulam Ali Khan. You describe what the book is about, explaining that it focuses on starting to write poetry and connecting with emotions and imaginations. Furthermore, you explain how the book influenced you personally during your first year of graduation when you faced a creative block, noting that it helped you observe your surroundings. Finally, you address whether the book would influence others by stating it can help individuals who start writing poetry, plays, or movies. The tone is appropriate for a magazine letter, and all bullet points are addressed clearly, aligning well with the Band 6.0 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement, beginning with the correct salutation 'Dear Sir or Madam,' and closing with 'Yours faithfully, Gourav saini'. Ideas are presented in a logical sequence following the prompt structure. However, paragraphing is somewhat problematic; the main body is condensed into a single block of text rather than being broken down into distinct paragraphs for each bullet point, which affects the overall visual structure and logical flow. Cohesive devices are also rather basic and repetitive, relying on words like 'after that' and 'as a result', which places this criterion firmly at Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your ideas about poetry and creative writing. You attempt some less common vocabulary items and phrases, such as 'observe your surroundings', 'give colours to my imagination', and 'polish their talent'. However, there are noticeable lexical and spelling inaccuracies throughout the text, such as writing 'reliazed' instead of 'realized', 'initiate' instead of 'began' or 'started', and confusing 'there' with 'their' in the final paragraph. These errors do not completely impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as the relative clause in 'the book is all about how to start writing poetry'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation lapses, particularly run-on sentences joined by commas rather than proper conjunctions or full stops, as seen in 'I started writing poetry but after a certain point I reliazed new thoughts are not coming from my mind after that, I initiate reading this book...'. Additionally, subject-verb agreement and tense consistency issues appear ('It give colours'). These persistent errors can cause some difficulty for the reader, fitting the Band 5.0 descriptors.

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

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