Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-29

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 Madam,

I am writing to contribute to your magazine article entitled " The book that influenced the most" the book that influenced me the most is " The stories of the Prophets" .

This book has played a very important role in taking me to the right path. So the first thing that i am going to tell is what this book is about basically this book is about the stories of the prophets. Through this book i get to know how the prophets of Allah have spent their life. All the prophets face hardships but they stay patient, they never gave up on their religion.

On the other hand, this book influenced me , because when i read about the stories of the Prophets and i get to know about all the hardships and their patience ,it influenced me a lot.

I believe that, if any one read this book they will also get influence from this book. Because when a person is going through something and they will read about what the people who were very close to Allah had gone through they will get inspiration, and it will change their life as well.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The candidate addresses all three parts of the prompt in a general way. The letter begins with a formal salutation and states the purpose of contributing to the magazine. The book is described as 'The stories of the Prophets', and the writer explains that it taught them how prophets faced hardships and stayed patient. Finally, the writer expresses the belief that others would also be influenced because they would find inspiration and life-changing guidance. However, the development of these ideas is rather repetitive and basic, relying heavily on simple explanations without deeper elaboration. While all bullet points are covered, the response fits the Band 6 descriptor because the ideas are somewhat under-developed and lack the extension required for higher bands.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement, and the reader can easily follow the progression from the introduction to the description, influence, and general appeal of the book. However, paragraphing is weak; the body of the letter is compressed into a single bulky paragraph rather than being broken down into logical sections for each bullet point. Furthermore, cohesive devices are somewhat mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'and', 'so', and 'because'. Referencing is generally clear, but the lack of proper paragraphing and limited variety of cohesive devices prevent this criterion from reaching Band 7.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate their basic message, but the range is quite limited and repetitive. Phrases such as 'played a very important role', 'right path', and 'influence me a lot' appear frequently. There are also noticeable lexical and typographical errors, such as using 'the most' instead of 'me most' in the title reference, lowercase 'i' pronouns, and awkward phrasing like 'get to know how' and 'get influence from this book'. These limitations and errors place the response firmly in the Band 5 category, as the vocabulary is minimally adequate rather than flexible.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'when a person is going through something and they will read about what the people who were very close to Allah had gone through...'. However, grammatical control is weak. There are frequent errors in punctuation and capitalization, most notably the consistent use of lowercase 'i' instead of 'I', missing commas in complex sentences, and run-on structures. Tense consistency is sometimes shaky, and preposition choices are occasionally awkward. Because these errors occur frequently and occasionally impede smooth reading, the grammar aligns with Band 5.

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

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