Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing in response to an advertisement by your company, in which readers are asked to share their experience on reading a book.

I would like to contribute in this article because one book has an optimistic impression on my life and that is "Art of happiness." This book is written by 'Delai lama' and he has shared his teaching methodologies to overcome aggression and anxiety.

When I read this book, it had a significant impression on me because of its simple language and deeper meanings. This book has not only explained the reasons of anger but also given techniques to cater those issues. It was a pleasure to read this book because it feels like a medicine to me.

According to my belief, this book is likely to influence other individuals as well. This would assist those who are tackling negativities in their lives.

I hope this experience would be helpful.

Yours faithfully,

Manpreet Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all parts of the prompt, fulfilling the core requirements of a general correspondence task. You clearly identify the book in question as 'Art of happiness' by the 'Delai lama' and address all bullet points: you describe what the book was about, explain its personal influence on you, and state whether it would likely influence others. However, some ideas remain slightly under-developed rather than fully extended. For instance, while you mention that the book provides 'teaching methodologies to overcome aggression and anxiety,' the explanation of how it influenced you could be explored with more depth and specific examples to reach a higher level of development.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear, logical progression from introduction to body paragraphs and a polite sign-off. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different ideas, such as describing the book, explaining its impact, and discussing its potential influence on others. Cohesive devices are present, though referencing and linking are sometimes a bit mechanical. For example, using 'According to my belief' to introduce your final point is functional, but a more natural transitional phrase would improve the flow. Pronoun referencing is generally clear, helping the reader follow your thoughts easily throughout the letter.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

An adequate range of vocabulary is deployed for the task, allowing you to communicate your message effectively. You make successful attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'teaching methodologies', 'significant impression', and 'cater those issues'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and proper nouns, such as 'optimistic impression' instead of 'positive impact', and the misspelling of 'Dalai Lama'. Spelling and word-choice errors are present, but they do not impede communication, allowing the reader to understand your intent clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

A satisfactory mix of simple and complex sentence forms is used throughout the response. You demonstrate control over basic sentence structures and successfully construct complex sentences, such as 'When I read this book, it had a significant impression on me because of its simple language and deeper meanings.' There are some errors in grammar and punctuation—for instance, missing articles ('contribute in this article', 'share their experience on reading') and slight prepositions issues—but these errors are infrequent and rarely impede communication, demonstrating a solid foundation in grammatical control.

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