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 to request you to add a book in you article that helped me to improve my life. I think this is a motivational book and everyone should read it to get inspiration.

The name of this book is Atomic Habits, wrote by James clear and it was published in 2018. It is an interesting book and by reading this book people can learn so many things.

Most of my habits that i have changed according to this such as most of time I was spending on tiktok, instagram and facebook. But after reading this book, I add many things in my life like do not waste time on social media, read books, articles, novels which assist people to learn something new.

I would really appreciate it if you could add this book in your magazine because in the contemporary era, individuals have become habitual of digital things. They spend most of time in work and other time on watching videos, scrolling reels which put bad effect on their eyesight as well as daily life.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours Faithfully,

Ramandeep Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the three requested points: you identify Atomic Habits, describe its focus on changing habits, and explain that it helped you reduce time on social media and take up reading. The recommendation that others could benefit is also clear, particularly in your comments about digital habits. However, the book’s content is described only generally, and the influence on you would be more convincing with a specific example of a habit you changed and how the book’s advice enabled it. The claim that “everyone should read it” is broad; explain which readers might benefit and why. The letter’s purpose is understandable, but a more developed account of the book and its effects would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response follows a sensible sequence: it introduces the purpose, names the book, describes your personal changes, and then recommends it to the magazine’s readers. Paragraph breaks help distinguish these stages, and the closing is appropriate for a formal letter. Some links between ideas are less clear, however. For example, “Most of my habits that i have changed according to this such as” does not clearly connect the book’s advice to the examples that follow. The final paragraph also moves from your recommendation to eyesight and daily life without fully explaining that connection. Use clearer transitions and organise the personal influence and wider relevance into distinct, logically connected points.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “motivational book,” “inspiration,” “social media,” and “digital things,” so the reader can understand the main message. There are also attempts at more formal language, such as “contemporary era” and “individuals.” However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural, including “add a book in you article,” “add many things in my life,” and “put bad effect on their eyesight.” Repetition of “book,” “people,” and “most of time” also limits the range. Aim for more precise collocations and vary how you refer to the book and its readers; this would make the recommendation sound more fluent and appropriately formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You communicate through a mixture of simple sentences and some longer structures, including the conditional request “I would really appreciate it if you could…” and the relative clause “which assist people to learn something new.” These attempts show some range, but errors in sentence construction and verb forms are frequent enough to make parts awkward. For example, “The name of this book is Atomic Habits, wrote by James clear” needs a passive form, while “Most of my habits that i have changed according to this such as” is an incomplete construction. There are also errors in “I add many things” and inconsistent capitalisation of “I.” Practise complete sentence patterns and accurate past-tense forms, then proofread punctuation and capital letters.

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