Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-27

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 4.0)

Dear sir,

I hope you are well, I am writing to you letter i need a book for readers and article called the book that influenced me most.

I need a book english vocablary it is very crucial for people and students. This book give me very vital vocablary and they help me improve my english. When i have need some important word i find quckily. The books help me my daily routine and support me in diffecult time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, containing only 79 words. While the student attempts to write a letter to the editor, the content is extremely limited and does not fully address the bullet points. Specifically, the student mentions an English vocabulary book, but the description of what the book is about and how it influenced them is very brief and underdeveloped. Furthermore, the final bullet point regarding whether the book would influence other people is completely omitted. Because of the severe under-length and missing task requirements, this response falls significantly short of a passing task achievement score.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The letter lacks proper paragraphing and cohesive devices, appearing as a single short block of text with very basic linking words like 'and' and 'when'. The progression of ideas is disjointed, and referencing is weak, as seen in phrases like 'they help me improve' where the pronoun antecedent is unclear. There is no clear overall organisation that guides the reader logically through the required prompts. While the greeting 'Dear sir,' is attempted, the overall structural development is severely limited due to the shortness of the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, such as 'book', 'people', and 'help'. There are noticeable spelling errors, including 'vocablary' instead of 'vocabulary', 'quckily' instead of 'quickly', and 'diffecult' instead of 'difficult'. The range of vocabulary is severely limited and inadequate for a standard IELTS task. Although the intended meaning is occasionally conveyed, the frequent lexical errors and lack of less common items restrict the score to this band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

The response consists mainly of simple sentences connected loosely with commas, leading to comma splices such as 'I hope you are well, I am writing to you letter...'. Grammatical control is weak, with errors in word form and prepositional usage, such as 'writing to you letter' and 'When i have need some important word i find quckily'. Complex structures are absent, and basic subject-verb agreement or tense consistency is frequently flawed. Punctuation is also neglected, with lowercase 'i' used throughout.

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