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 writing this letter regarding the contribution in the edition of the book that influenced me the most.

The name of the book is fourty days. This book includes the story of the man, who is struggling in his daily life and wants to become a successful person. Moreover, this book also gives the life lesson.

This book influenced me because this book is based on the middle class man who has no support from his family but he wants to become a writer. When I started reading the book I felt my own story is written in that book. This book not only based on the real life story but also gives the motivation that people can do anything if they dreamed of it.

As far as I am concerned. This book will definitely influence other people too. Because no one is star from the birth. Every person has to do hard-work in their life. This book gives enough motivation to fulfill the dreams.

I hope you can understand this book can help to accomplish the dreams of thousands.

Best faithfully,

Raman

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three requested points: you identify the book as *Fourty Days*, outline its story, explain that you related to the aspiring writer, and say it could motivate other readers. The personal link—“I felt my own story is written in that book”—helps make the influence clear. However, the book’s plot and the specific effect it had on your choices or behaviour are only briefly explained, so some ideas remain under-developed. The prediction about other readers is also quite general, relying on statements such as “Every person has to do hard-work” rather than explaining which readers might benefit and why. To strengthen the letter, add one concrete example of a change or lesson the book brought about in your life, and develop your view of its wider influence.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a coherent overall arrangement: an opening, a paragraph introducing the book, a paragraph about its personal influence, and a final paragraph about its effect on others. This makes the main points easy to locate. You also use linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “because,” and “As far as I am concerned.” At times, however, connections feel mechanical or unclear. For example, “As far as I am concerned. This book…” breaks one idea into an awkward sentence, while repeated use of “This book” makes the paragraphs less fluid. The closing sentence introduces a further claim without a smooth link to the preceding point. Use clearer transitions and vary references, for example with “It” or “The story,” while keeping each paragraph focused on one purpose.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the topic and your main ideas, with relevant expressions such as “life lesson,” “middle class,” “motivation,” and “fulfill the dreams.” However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, or spelling problems make the letter sound unnatural. Examples include “fourty” for “forty,” “the story of the man,” and “no one is star from the birth.” “Hard-work” is also not the natural form in this sentence. These choices do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, but they reduce precision and control. Build a bank of natural phrases for describing a book’s plot and impact, and check spelling and collocations before submitting. Aim to express the same ideas with more specific, idiomatic wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple sentences and some attempts at more complex structures, including “When I started reading the book…” and “people can do anything if they dreamed of it.” The overall meaning is generally clear, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “This book not only based on the real life story” needs a verb (“is not only based…”), and “I felt my own story is written” would be clearer with consistent tense (“was written”). The sentence beginning “As far as I am concerned” is incorrectly punctuated as a complete sentence before “This book will…”. There are also issues with articles and sentence construction in “the story of the man.” Practise accurate clause formation and tense consistency, then proofread punctuation and sentence boundaries.

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