Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to suggest an inspiring book which inspired me alot and bought a huge change in my life. I believe if you add mention about these book in your article it will change atleast few people around the country.

The name of the book is rich dad and poor kid. Recently a Tollywood director directed a movie based on these book. The book is about the struggle father go through to give a comfortable life to his son without compromising on his dreams. At one point they did not have a proper shelter, food and clothing, however, father work so hard without any excuses and finally he will become the richest person with all his efforts. The moral of the book is anyone can achieve anything in life even if we do not a basic essentials in our life.

After a read the book,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The candidate has attempted all parts of the prompt: describing a book, explaining its influence, and discussing its likelihood to influence others. However, the response is cut off mid-sentence at the end ("After a read the book,"), which limits the development of the final ideas. Furthermore, there are some inaccuracies regarding the description of the book; the classic book "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki is confused with a movie plot about a father and son's struggle. Despite these limitations, the purpose of the letter is clear, and the tone is appropriate for a magazine submission. It fits best into Band 5 for partially addressing the task with under-developed and incomplete ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The letter follows a basic narrative structure, beginning with an introduction and moving into a body paragraph describing the book. However, the paragraphing is poor, as the entire middle section is lumped into one long block of text, and the letter abruptly cuts off before any conclusion can be formed. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes inaccurate, such as "these book" or repetitive use of "and". Referencing is occasionally confusing, for instance, shifting between the book and a movie adaptation. Overall organisation shows some basic structure but lacks clear progression due to the incomplete ending and mechanical flow, aligning with Band 5.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is relatively simple and repetitive, such as "inspired," "book," "father," and "life." There are notable lexical errors and inappropriate word choices, including "bought a huge change" instead of "brought," "these book" instead of "this book," and "a basic essentials." While the student attempts to use some less common phrases like "without compromising on his dreams," the numerous inaccuracies in word choice and collocation occasionally cause strain for the reader. This performance is characteristic of Band 5, showing a limited but minimally adequate range with noticeable errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional clauses ("I believe if you add...") and relative clauses. However, grammatical control is weak throughout the text. There are frequent errors in verb tense and agreement, including "father work so hard" (instead of worked), "we do not a basic essentials," and the incomplete sentence fragment at the conclusion. Punctuation and article usage are also inconsistent. These frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the response from achieving a higher band, placing it solidly at Band 5.

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