Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-05

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 6.0)

Dear Sir,

I hope you are doing well, I am writing this letter to give review about a book for an article called 'The book that influence me most'.

I have read many books but today I would like to write a review about a book that influenced me most. Actually this book was a punjabi novel and it is called chitta lahu which means in english is white blood. This book was written by a very famous punjabi write called Nanak Singh. This book respresented the old days in punjab around 1950, when people stongly believed in cast system and superstations. In his book he writes, how people in those days used to discriminate on bases of colour,cast and religion. After reading this book I developed a sence of equality for all humans. I started to observe how even thesedays, we humans discriminate with others and spread hate. This book helped me to grow psychologically, which has improved my personality. I have recommended this book to all my friends and they have given me positive reviews. I strongly believe that this book will influence other people. Therefore, I would like you to write an article book this book in your news paper.

Best Regards,

Maninderpal Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt, covering what the book was about, how it influenced the writer, and whether it would influence others. The ideas presented are generally relevant and clear, fully meeting the criteria for the lower band while showing glimpses of higher-level development. For instance, the description of the Punjabi novel 'Chitta Lahu' and its exploration of historical discrimination based on caste and religion are clearly articulated. However, some parts of the task are slightly more developed than others. The explanation of the book's influence on the writer's psychological growth and sense of equality is well-expressed, but the section regarding its potential impact on other people is somewhat brief and relies on a general assertion rather than detailed extension. Overall, the content is appropriate and directly answers the magazine's request.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical structure typical of a letter, beginning with a suitable greeting and ending with a sign-off. Information flows reasonably well from the introduction of the book to its plot, the personal impact, and finally the recommendation. However, cohesion at times feels mechanical or restricted, and paragraphing is underdeveloped since almost the entire body of the letter is compressed into a single dense paragraph. While referencing devices like 'this book' help maintain a connection between ideas, the lack of distinct paragraph breaks for different points hinders overall progression. Improving the logical division of ideas into separate paragraphs would significantly enhance the structural flow of the writing.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating a sufficient range to communicate the main points effectively. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'discriminate', 'psychologically', and 'equality', which fits the context of discussing a literary influence. Nevertheless, there are noticeable lexical and spelling inaccuracies that reflect an adequate rather than advanced control of word choice and form. Examples include spelling errors like 'punjabi write' instead of writer, 'respresented' instead of represented, 'stongly' instead of strongly, 'cast system' instead of caste system, 'superstations' instead of superstitions, 'bases' instead of basis, 'sence' instead of sense, 'thesedays' instead of these days, and 'news paper' instead of newspaper. These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they prevent the writing from achieving a higher lexical band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and relative clauses, such as in sentences detailing historical events and personal reflections. There are, however, several grammatical errors throughout the text. These include punctuation and run-on issues in the opening sentence ('doing well, I am'), missing articles ('in english', 'on bases of colour'), and prepositional or structural awkwardness ('give review about a book' instead of 'give a review of a book', 'influence me most' instead of influenced, and 'article book this book'). While these errors occur with some frequency, they rarely impede the reader's understanding of the message, allowing the meaning to remain clear despite the grammatical slips.

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