Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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,

I am Pankaj, a reader of your newspaper. Last week, I read a NEWS that you want to publish an article "The book that influenced me most", for which you are seeking suggestion from your users.

I want to share my experience about a book called "Games of throne", which I completed recently. It's a history book written by George White, who is well known for its fictional books.

Last year, this book won first prize in the world book competetion. This book has lots of characters, but I got influnced by the king who is main character of the book. He faced lots of problems in his life, however he never loose hope. I suggest this book to your users, because people can learn from the king, that they should never loose hope if stuck in a tricky situation.

I hope you will consider my suggestion, and feel free to contact me for further questions.

Thank you.

Your faithfully

Pankaj.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the three requested points: you identify the book, describe the king’s difficulties and perseverance, and recommend it to readers because they may learn not to lose hope. The central message is clear and relevant. However, the description of the book’s content is brief, and the explanation of your personal influence is mostly limited to saying that you were influenced by the king; a specific change in your own thinking or behaviour would develop this point. The claim that it won a prize is also not connected to your recommendation. To strengthen the letter, explain more precisely what the story taught you and why its message would resonate with different readers.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter follows a generally logical sequence: you introduce yourself and the purpose, name the book, explain the king’s example, and finish with a recommendation and polite closing. Linking expressions such as “however,” “because,” and “I hope” help connect the ideas. The main weakness is that the content is compressed into one long body paragraph, so the book description and its personal impact are not clearly separated. Some references, such as “this book” and “the king,” are understandable but repeated, and the opening sentence about the magazine’s request is awkwardly constructed. Use two or three purposeful paragraphs and clearer transitions to make the progression more natural.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the topic, including “fictional books,” “main character,” “faced lots of problems,” and “tricky situation.” The repeated idea of not losing hope is also relevant to the book’s influence. However, the range is limited and several choices or spellings reduce accuracy, including “a NEWS,” “suggestion from your users,” “got influnced,” and “competetion.” Some expressions are informal or imprecise for a letter to a magazine editor. Aim for more natural collocations and accurate spelling, such as describing the book’s central message and explaining how it affected your outlook. This would make the account more precise without requiring unnecessarily complex vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mixture of simple sentences and some longer structures, including “who is well known for its fictional books” and the sentence beginning “I suggest this book… because…”. The overall meaning is usually clear, but there are some errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “he never loose hope” should use the past form “lost,” while “who is main character” needs an article. “I am Pankaj, a reader…” is understandable, but the opening sentence about the article is difficult to follow grammatically. Practise accurate past-tense narration and build longer sentences around one clear main clause; this will improve control while preserving your useful sentence variety.

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