Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-22

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 / madam,

i'm very deligthed for writing you this letter about the oppourtunity given to your readers for an article with the theme ' The book that influenced me most.

The book that influenced me most comes woth the title called, confidence. This book was literally about how plays a vital role in our lives and how it shapes us to become who we want to be , and influenced every aspect if our lives.

After reading this book, i have become more confident and also realise how confident it needed to shape our lives and the impact it brings to the people around us.

i will recommend this book to everyone to gibe it a try and read through and it will have a great impact on their lives .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address all three requested points: you identify the book as *Confidence*, describe its focus on confidence and its effects, explain that reading it made you more confident, and recommend it to others. However, the description and personal influence are brief and sometimes unclear, so the ideas remain under-developed. For example, “how plays a vital role” does not specify what plays this role, and the effect on your own life is not illustrated with a concrete change or example. The recommendation is also general rather than explaining which readers might benefit and why. The response is 17 words below the required minimum, which limits the space available to develop these points. Add specific details about the book and a personal example to address the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear basic progression: an opening, a description of the book, its effect on you, and a recommendation. This makes the main message easy to follow, and the paragraphs broadly match the task’s three points. To move beyond this level, make the links between ideas more natural and ensure each paragraph develops one point fully. The opening sentence focuses on the opportunity to contribute rather than moving directly to the book, while the final recommendation repeats the general idea of influence without adding a reason. Some connections within sentences are also unclear, such as “and influenced every aspect,” where the relationship to the preceding idea is difficult to follow. A more focused opening and clearer transitions would strengthen the progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “confident,” “shapes us,” “impact,” and “recommend,” so the reader can understand the general message. However, the range is limited and several spelling or word-choice errors are noticeable, including “deligthed,” “oppourtunity,” “woth,” and “gibe.” Some phrases are also awkward, such as “comes woth the title called” and “read through.” These errors reduce the naturalness and precision of the letter, even though its main meaning is generally recoverable. Choose more accurate collocations and check spelling carefully. For example, you could say the book “is titled *Confidence*” and recommend that readers “give it a try” or “read it.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response communicates its main ideas using simple sentences and attempts a longer sentence to describe the book, but the range of structures is limited and errors occur frequently. Examples include “how plays a vital role,” which lacks a clear subject, and “how confident it needed to shape our lives,” where the clause structure and verb form are unclear. There are also problems with sentence boundaries and punctuation, such as the comma before “and influenced” and inconsistent capitalisation of “I.” These issues sometimes make the reader pause to interpret the meaning. Build accuracy first with complete subject–verb clauses, then connect them using simple conjunctions. Proofreading for sentence structure, capital letters, and punctuation would make the message clearer.

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