Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-17

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 a letter to you after reading a book which play very imporatnt role in my career and life. It is very good idea to write an article about something that motivates everyone.

Firstly, The name of the book is 'Gita' which was written by Vedvyas Mahamuni. Moreover, it is written in Sanskrit langauge. The book written which focuses on the difficulties everyone faces during their life span and how to deal with situtation when people feels depresed or demotivated in their life.

Secondly, I started to read this book two week before because at that time I am struggleing with my career and feeeling supressed with work- life balance. After I read the solutions in this book I started to apply it in my real life so I found it it is good if something is bothering you in your career but tackle it with good courage makes you real life hero.

Lastly, I can say this book is written in six laungage so I recomand to everyone to read when mind is not in a good state.I find it in influence me a lot so give it a try.

I hope this information find helpful to you best of luck.

Yours faithfully,

Kaira Boss

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The candidate has successfully addressed all three bullet points required in the task instructions. The letter begins appropriately and clearly describes the book (the Gita), explains how it influenced the writer's career and personal life by offering solutions to career difficulties and work-life balance issues, and considers its potential to influence others by recommending it. Ideas are relevant and developed sufficiently to meet the requirements of the task. The tone is generally appropriate for a magazine submission. While some of the explanations are slightly simplistic, all parts of the prompt are covered clearly and purposefully, aligning well with the descriptors for Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is arranged into logical paragraphs, each serving a distinct purpose corresponding to the prompt requirements. Transitional markers such as 'Firstly', 'Moreover', 'Secondly', and 'Lastly' are used to structure the response, although some cohesive devices feel slightly mechanical or repetitive. Referencing is generally clear, and the overall progression of ideas is easy to follow from the introduction through the body paragraphs to the sign-off. Paragraphing is used adequately to group related ideas, supporting a cohesive flow throughout the text, which satisfies the requirements for a Band 6.0 score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating everyday concepts and personal reflections. There are several attempts to use less common vocabulary and idiomatic phrasing, such as 'real life hero', 'demotivated', and 'work-life balance'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including 'imporatnt' instead of important, 'langauge' and 'laungage' instead of language, 'situtation' instead of situation, 'depresed' instead of depressed, and 'recomand' instead of recommend. While these errors do not seriously impede communication, their frequency prevents the score from reaching a higher band level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in structure. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as tense and aspect inconsistencies ('after reading a book which play very imporatnt role', 'because at that time I am struggleing'), article omissions ('in real life', 'give it a try'), and awkward phrasing ('I hope this information find helpful to you'). Punctuation is also occasionally faulty, with unnecessary spaces before commas and periods. Although the meaning remains understandable despite these errors, the density of grammatical inaccuracies places this performance firmly at Band 5.0.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.