Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-28

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 hope that you will be fine. I saw that a magazine wants to include contributions from its readers for your article "The book that influenced me most". I will glad to add mine. You want to know that which book influenced me the most so that you can add this in your article.

So, I like a book which is " Ikigai". One of my closet friend suggested me to read this book. It is about the people of Japan. Moreover, How they live a long life with happiness? It tells the secrets of Japan's people.

This book influenced me the most such as it helps me in my daily life. It placed a better look on me than my self. It shows that how people of Japan are so successful and fit even when they become old. They do gardening, harvesting and exercise everyday and help each other. It also show how o exercise.

The whole world is well-known about Japan's strength. However, from my perspective, it will influence some people who are really interested in this. I also recommend you to read this book first you will see why you should include it in your article.

Taking everything in account, books place a huge impact on people's thinking. So, we should add those books who influence people and change their thinking.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all three bullet points required by the prompt, though the development of ideas remains somewhat superficial in places. You successfully identified the book as 'Ikigai', described what it is about (the lifestyle and longevity of Japanese people), and touched upon its influence and potential impact on others. However, certain parts are underdeveloped, such as the explanation of how it influenced your daily life, where you mention it 'placed a better look on me' rather than providing concrete personal changes. The tone is mostly appropriate for a magazine letter, meeting the functional requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter is organised into clear paragraphs, starting with a standard greeting and concluding appropriately. However, the logical progression between sentences within paragraphs is occasionally disrupted by choppy phrasing and fragmented ideas, such as starting sentences with conjunctions ('Moreover, How they live...') or using single-sentence paragraphs that lack development. Cohesive devices are attempted, with transitional phrases like 'Taking everything in account', though some referencing is unclear or mechanically applied. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion requires better linking between sentences.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your basic meaning about the book and its themes. You attempt some less common vocabulary items such as 'perspective', 'well-known', and 'contributions'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'I will glad to add mine', 'closet friend' instead of 'close friend', 'placed a better look on me', and 'show how o exercise'. These lexical inaccuracies slightly impede clarity in places, restricting the score to Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are several noticeable grammatical errors throughout the response, including tense and modal verb errors ('I will glad'), fragment sentences ('Moreover, How they live...'), article omissions, and preposition misuses ('suggested me to read'). While these errors do not completely obscure your message, they occur frequently enough to prevent the writing from reaching a higher band. Punctuation is generally functional, but control over complex clauses needs strengthening.

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