Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-02

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 am writing this letter to let you know about the book that influenced me, the book is about health related, in that book everything is explained properly step by step that in this modern era how to stay fit physicaly and also mentally.

This book influenced me a lot because of this book my lifestyle totaly changed. Before this book i had no discipline in my life my health is not fit i had so much fat on my body, i eat whatever i wanted in that time and when i saw my self in the mirror daily i felt depressed every morning and then my friend recommended this book and this book changed everything. I started the gym and followed proper diet and then magic my body started changing and then i became so fit i got six pack abs with the help of that book in that book everything have about diet workout and how to build confidence.

This book will influence other people too if this book will promote more because this book still very underrated. Nowadays everyone wants to stay fit but they does not know how to stay fit. So with the help of this book many people will become fit in the future. i am highly recommending this health related book.

Yours Faithfully

Gurgopal Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You successfully address all three parts of the task by describing what the book was about, explaining its personal influence, and discussing its potential impact on others. Your position is clear throughout the letter, and the response meets the length requirement. The ideas cover the required bullet points, showing elements of a higher band by fully exploring how your lifestyle changed and how the book helped you achieve your fitness goals. However, some parts remain somewhat repetitive or are less fully developed than others, particularly when explaining how the book would influence other people, where the explanation relies on general statements rather than extended support. To reach a higher level, you should ensure every part of the prompt is explored with equal depth and clearer elaboration.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear beginning and ending. You use paragraphing to separate your introduction, body points, and conclusion, which helps guide the reader through your narrative. However, the cohesion feels mechanical at times due to repetitive linking patterns, such as the frequent use of 'and then' to connect clauses and sentences. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, making the flow of ideas slightly disjointed. To improve your score in this area, you should work on using a wider variety of cohesive devices naturally and vary your sentence transitions to create a smoother, more logical progression throughout the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your message about health and fitness. You attempt some less common vocabulary related to the topic, such as 'modern era', 'underrated', and 'confidence', which shows an effort to expand your lexical range. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and word form throughout the text, such as writing 'health related' instead of 'health-related', 'physicaly' instead of 'physically', and 'totaly' instead of 'totally'. Additionally, some phrases are repetitive, which restricts the precision of your writing. To achieve a higher band, you need to use a wider range of vocabulary with greater accuracy and pay closer attention to spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You demonstrate a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and run-on structures joined by coordinating conjunctions like 'and'. There are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly regarding run-on sentences, missing punctuation between independent clauses, and inconsistent tense usage, such as shifting between past and present when describing your experience. For instance, writing 'my health is not fit' instead of 'was not fit' demonstrates issues with verb agreement and tense consistency. While your meaning remains generally clear despite these errors, the frequent mistakes and lack of complex sentence control keep your grammar score at this level. Working on punctuation boundaries and incorporating accurate complex structures will help you improve.

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

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