Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-21

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 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter as a contribution in ''The book that influenced me most'' article. Being an avaid reader I want to review a book and recommend others to read.

''Mind works'' by Lina Chaow is the most influential book I have ever read. This book explains how our mind works, process thoughts, and controls our body. The author also mentioned the connection of brain with internal organs, diseases, and overall health. By thought controlling and stimulating any problem can be cured.

I used to have intestinal inflammation, but after reading this book I have improved my gut health significantly. I started practicing the instructions given by the authors and my way of thinking and accepting conditions has also altered.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to everyone. Since deep inside, everyone is dealing with some mental or health problems, and after reading ''Mind Works'' people can get the control of their body and improve their lifestyle effortlessly.

I would really appreciate it if you can add this book reference in the upcoming article.

Your faithfully,

Simrat.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three required points: it describes the book’s focus on the mind and health, explains your personal experience with intestinal inflammation, and recommends it to other readers. Your position is clear throughout, and the personal example gives the influence section useful support. The recommendation is also explicit in “I would not hesitate to recommend this book to everyone.” To strengthen the response further, develop the book’s influence on you with a more specific example of an instruction you followed or a change in your thinking. The claim that people can control their bodies and improve their lifestyle “effortlessly” is very broad; a more measured explanation would make the recommendation more convincing and avoid over-generalising.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The information is arranged in a clear sequence: you introduce the purpose of the letter, describe the book, explain its effect on you, and then recommend it. Separate paragraphs help the reader follow these stages, and links such as “but after reading this book” make the relationship between your experience and the book clear. The closing request is appropriate to the magazine context. To make the progression even smoother, connect the book’s description more explicitly to the specific practices you adopted, rather than moving quickly from its general subject to your health improvement. Also, “Since deep inside” begins a sentence fragment; joining this reason to the recommendation would make the connection more fluent.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary to discuss the subject, including “influential,” “intestinal inflammation,” “gut health,” and “instructions,” so the reader can understand the book’s topic and its personal impact. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, which limits precision: “contribution in” is less natural than “contribution to,” “avaid reader” appears to mean “avid reader,” and “thought controlling and stimulating any problem” is unclear. “The connection of brain with internal organs” could be expressed more naturally as “the connection between the brain and internal organs.” Aim for accurate, natural combinations of words, especially when describing the book’s ideas and your health changes; this will make your vocabulary more effective without needing unnecessarily complex terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, and most of the message remains easy to follow. For example, “I used to have intestinal inflammation, but after reading this book I have improved my gut health significantly” combines past and present information effectively. Some grammatical errors remain. In “This book explains how our mind works, process thoughts, and controls our body,” the verbs do not follow a consistent structure; use parallel forms such as “works, processes thoughts, and controls.” “Since deep inside, everyone is dealing…” is a dependent clause presented as a complete sentence, so attach it to the preceding sentence. Check articles and possessives in phrases such as “the connection of brain” and “the authors,” and use the conventional closing “Yours faithfully.”

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