Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-26

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 6.0)

Dear Sir/Madam

I would like to contribute about the book that influenced me most. I really like to read the story books and it is one of them.It was a story about an orphan child. After his parents passed away his grandparents sent him to an orphanage home and they used to torture him, forced him to do labour at home. He was scared because other kids bullied him in there. After sometime a guy adopted him and he was from middleclass He took care of kid well. When kid grew up he worked hard and became a businessman.

I was so influenced from the book as it showed us both sides of the coin if someone is trying to hurt us there is always somebody else who wants us to grow in life. Doesn't matter how hard our childhood was we should always try to do best in future and try to influence other people.

I am pretty sure this book can influence thousands of people because of the storyline and the hardworking kid who achieved everything once he dreamt of.

I think the writer should write more stories like this to influence young people.

Your truly,

Shivi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three points: the orphan’s story is outlined, you explain its message about hardship and support, and you predict that it could influence many readers. The personal response—“we should always try to do best in future”—makes the book’s effect clear. The description of the plot is relevant, but some details are compressed or unclear, such as how the grandparents relate to the orphanage and what the adopted child achieves beyond becoming a businessman. The claim that it could influence “thousands of people” is also asserted rather than supported. To strengthen the letter, identify the book and author if you can, and develop one specific example of how its message changed your own outlook. The response is purposeful, with some ideas more fully developed than others.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter follows a sensible overall sequence: introduction, plot summary, personal influence, likely effect on other readers, and a closing suggestion. Paragraph breaks help distinguish these stages, and links such as “After” and “because” make the basic relationships understandable. However, the plot paragraph moves quickly between events, so the connection between the grandparents, the orphanage, and the adoption is not always easy to follow. Some transitions are also abrupt, particularly the move from the book’s message to the prediction about its influence. Use clearer sequencing and referencing—for example, name the child consistently rather than switching to “he” and “kid”—and connect each paragraph more explicitly to the next. This would make the progression smoother and less dependent on simple linking.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the story and its message, including “orphanage,” “bullied,” “adopted,” and “achieved.” These choices show some range beyond very basic description. However, several phrases are imprecise or unnatural, such as “story books,” “middleclass,” “influenced from the book,” and “do best in future.” Repetition of “influence” and “influenced” also limits variety, while “hardworking kid” is informal for a letter to a magazine editor. Aim for more accurate collocations and a slightly more formal register, such as describing the book’s “central message” or the character’s “determination.” These improvements would make your meaning more precise and fluent without changing the clear, relevant ideas.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the conditional idea “if someone is trying to hurt us there is always somebody else…” and the contrast introduced by “Doesn’t matter how hard our childhood was.” The main meaning remains understandable, but some errors in sentence boundaries, articles, and verb patterns reduce accuracy. For example, “It was a story about an orphan child. After his parents passed away his grandparents sent him…” needs clearer punctuation after the introductory clause, and “he took care of kid well” is missing an article. “I was so influenced from the book” also uses an incorrect grammatical pattern. Practise combining clauses with accurate punctuation and checking articles and prepositions. More consistently controlled complex sentences would improve the overall accuracy.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.