Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter to contribute my perceptions about the book that contributed a lot from many aspects to my life. It is not just a book for me it is an emotion.

I would like to describe about a book named as '' Bhagvad Gita''. It is a holy book and it belongs to Hindu culture. The words in the book was spoken by our Lord Vishnu. Many people says that, the book has all the answers to our problems. It is not just a piece of an article but in my religion we worship it and place it in our temple.

One month ago, I was feeling nervous because I had failed my exam. I read this book randomly and I came to know that everything happens with a reason. Then, I realised that nothing is in our hand.

I would like you to share something about this religious book in your article. I am pretty much sure that many people like me could get an inspiration. This book is under rated nowadys so I would like you to share more and more about it so people remember their culture and religion.

I hope my message would be helpful to you.

Yours faithfully

Anjali Patel

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The candidate successfully covers all the bullet points outlined in the prompt. The letter begins appropriately and addresses the requirement to describe the book by introducing the Bhagavad Gita and detailing its religious significance and background. The second bullet point is handled by explaining how reading the book helped the author overcome nervousness after failing an exam, offering a personal insight into karma and acceptance. Finally, the third bullet point is addressed by stating that many people could draw inspiration from it and suggesting it is underrated. The tone is appropriate for a magazine contribution, and ideas are sufficiently developed throughout the body paragraphs, fulfilling the task requirements effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is generally coherent and follows a logical overall arrangement. Paragraphing is utilised to separate the introduction, description, personal impact, request to the editor, and sign-off. However, cohesion at the sentence level is at times mechanical or slightly abrupt, as seen in transitions like 'Then, I realised' or 'I would like to describe about a book'. Reference pronouns are mostly clear, but the logical progression between sentences could be smoother. Overall, the organisation is clear enough to guide the reader through the letter without difficulty, fitting the descriptors for a band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with some attempts at less common lexical items such as 'perceptions', 'inspiration', and 'underrated'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text. For instance, the phrase 'contribute my perceptions' is unnatural, 'describe about a book' contains an unnecessary preposition, and 'nowadys' is misspelled. Furthermore, some expressions are repetitive, such as the repeated use of 'contribute' and 'book'. The lexical range is sufficient to communicate the core ideas, but inaccuracies place it firmly in the band 6.0 range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over tense and sentence structure. However, grammatical errors are frequent enough to detract from accuracy. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues like 'The words in the book was spoken', prepositional errors such as 'nothing is in our hand' instead of 'in our hands', and minor punctuation oversights. While these errors do not impede overall communication and the meaning remains clear, the frequency of basic grammatical slips prevents the response from achieving a higher band score.

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

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