Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-21

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,

I am writing this letter to express my interest for an article named ‘ The book influenced me most’. To be honest, this writer stimulated me to restart my life journey. Although I had demotivated because of my entrance exam result in which I scored 68 percent marks. To get admission in the university of Kurukshetra, minimum requirement was 70, however, I lost my seat because of 2 marks.

Yesterday, I found this magzine in the library and I decided to issue it. Moreover, I spent my whole day to read it. Consequently, It changed my whole life. The story was about ants. How they collect their food by working harder. Writing not only includes their lifestyle but also provides important information about their motivation and hardwork. How they rebuild their houses after getting destroyed from rain.

I am aware that this magzine should be published in all languages because it will encourage other people to restart their life as it changed mine. I would appreciate it.

Yours Faithfully

Nikhil

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You successfully cover all three bullet points required in the task prompt. You state your interest in the magazine article, describe the book about ants and how it inspired you, and briefly touch upon its potential impact on others. However, some ideas are underdeveloped or lack clarity. For instance, stating that the story was about 'ants' collecting food is a bit unconventional for an inspirational book review, and the connection between the magazine and the book is slightly confused at times. Additionally, the greeting 'Dear Sir' does not match the prompt's instruction to use 'Dear Sir or Madam' fully. Nevertheless, the main communicative purpose is achieved, placing your performance at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

Your letter has a discernible overall structure, moving from an introduction to the description of the book, its effects, and a concluding thought. However, paragraphing is poorly managed; all the body content is compressed into one long, somewhat chaotic paragraph that mixes multiple ideas together. Furthermore, cohesive devices are sometimes awkward or mechanically used, such as 'Consequently, It changed my whole life' and 'Moreover'. Referencing is also slightly unclear when shifting between the author, the book, and the magazine. This level of organization and cohesive control aligns with the Band 5.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to express your basic meaning, but it features noticeable errors in word choice and spelling that restrict precision. For example, you wrote 'magzine' instead of 'magazine' and used phrases like 'express my interest for an article' rather than 'in an article'. You also wrote 'demotivated' where a noun phrase like 'feeling demotivated' or 'demoralized' was needed, and misused 'issue it' instead of 'borrow it'. These limitations in lexical precision and word formation place your vocabulary score at a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but your writing contains frequent grammatical errors. For instance, 'Although I had demotivated because of...' is missing a subject and a verb form, resulting in a fragmented clause. Other issues include punctuation errors and awkward phrasing such as 'Writing not only includes their lifestyle...' where you likely meant 'The writing not only describes...'. While your meaning remains generally understandable despite these errors, the high frequency of grammatical slips prevents you from reaching a higher band, resulting in a Band 5.0.

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

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