Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-18

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 formally include briefly contribution about for an article "The book that influenced me most" and I would like to give my suggestion about a book namely " The power of your Subconscious mind" written by Joseph Murphy.

The one of the reasons for recommend this book is that it is designed to teach about habitual thinking and create new identity. Furthermore, it is also help to change the way majority of people think.

This book has influenced me in many ways. For example, I felt so anxious most of the time without any reason before reading this book. This book really helped me to overcome my thoughts and shift my identity to a new one. As a result my thoughts are much clear now as compared to past, and it brings me into a postive attitu

Yours Sincerely,

Ramandeep Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The candidate has attempted all parts of the task prompt, including describing the book 'The Power of Your Subconscious Mind', explaining how it influenced her by helping her overcome anxiety and shift her identity, and discussing whether it would likely influence others. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the mention of how it would influence others is very brief and underdeveloped ('help to change the way majority of people think'). Furthermore, the response falls short of the 150-word minimum requirement at 148 words, which impacts the overall Task Achievement score. Based on these limitations, the response fits the Band 5.5 to 6.0 descriptors, specifically being slightly under-developed and failing the length requirement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a clear formal letter format, starting with the requested salutation 'Dear Sir or Madam,' and ending with a sign-off. Paragraphing is attempted, with distinct sections for the introduction, book description and influence, though the paragraphs are quite short and fragmented. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Furthermore' and 'As a result', though 'Furthermore' is somewhat awkwardly placed. The progression of ideas is generally logical, moving from the introduction of the book to its personal impact. However, referencing and cohesion can be mechanical and repetitive at times. These features align the response with a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common collocations and topic-related terms such as 'habitual thinking', 'shift my identity', and 'anxious'. However, there are notable word-choice errors, grammatical infelicities, and incomplete phrasing, such as 'include briefly contribution about for an article', 'reasons for recommend', and spelling errors like 'postive attitu' (positive attitude). These inaccuracies restrict the lexical score. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the core message, the frequency of lexical errors places it firmly at Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'The one of the reasons for recommend this book is that it is designed to teach about habitual thinking...'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including article misuse ('The one of the reasons'), incorrect verb forms ('reasons for recommend', 'is also help'), and prepositional errors ('include briefly contribution about for'). Additionally, the text cuts off abruptly with an incomplete sentence ('brings me into a postive attitu'). These frequent errors and the lack of error-free complex sentences mean the response corresponds to a Band 5.0.

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

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