Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

Respected Editor,

I hope you are doing well, I would like to share my contribution about the book I recently read and the book influenced me most. I t was a biography of a person who climb world tallest mountain Everest. but it was not that easy for that person he said a story about his experiance, he fall from the mountain and face many difficulties still did not give up.

So this book influence me that in our life whatever situation could be we should not give up and do try to win or achive whatever our goal or purpose is for our life.

This book influcend so many people. I was recommeded by my best friend who all ready read this book and she suggested me about this book that it is most influenced book.

Sincerly,

Yours

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response partially addresses all parts of the prompt, but the length requirement is not met, as the text contains only 139 words against the 150-word minimum. While you cover all three bullet points by mentioning a book about climbing Mount Everest, stating how it influenced you to not give up, and noting that it would likely influence others, the ideas are limited and under-developed. For instance, the description of the book's plot is basic, mentioning that 'he fall from the mountain and face many difficulties'. Furthermore, the salutation and sign-off are unusual or inaccurate, such as starting with 'Respected Editor' rather than the required 'Dear Sir or Madam' and ending with 'Sincerly, Yours'. To reach a higher band, you need to expand your ideas significantly, meet the minimum word count, and adopt an appropriate tone and formal convention throughout the letter.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some organisation in the response, but overall progression is lacking. The text is written as one large block with no clear paragraphing to separate the different bullet points or ideas. Cohesive devices are very limited, repetitive, and at times mechanical, relying heavily on basic conjunctions like 'and' and 'so' to link clauses, as seen in 'So this book influence me that in our life whatever situation could be we should not give up'. Referencing is also occasionally unclear. To improve Coherence and Cohesion, you should divide your letter into logical paragraphs for each task requirement, and make use of a wider range of appropriate cohesive devices to connect your sentences and ideas smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and barely adequate for the task, containing noticeable errors in word choice, word form, and spelling. For example, 'climber' is written as 'climb', 'experience' is misspelled as 'experiance', 'influence' is incorrectly used as a verb form in 'the book influenced me most' and 'this book influence me', and 'recommended' is written as 'recommeded'. There is also awkward phrasing such as 'most influenced book' instead of 'most influential book'. These lexical inaccuracies and spelling mistakes cause some difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher band, you need to develop a broader vocabulary range, use word forms accurately, and check your spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response shows a very limited range of grammatical structures, consisting mostly of simple or poorly connected clauses. Attempts at complex sentences are faulty and lack control, often resulting in run-on sentences with missing punctuation, such as 'I hope you are doing well, I would like to share my contribution...'. There are frequent errors in verb tenses, agreement, and prepositions within grammatical patterns, such as 'who all ready read this book' and 'she suggested me about this book'. These frequent errors can cause difficulty and strain for the reader. To improve your grammar score, you should focus on constructing accurate simple and complex sentences, controlling your tense usage, and improving your punctuation.

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

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