Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-30

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 Madam,

I hope everything is going well.I got a letter from your company to give feedback about a book which I read.

First of all,I read many books with different categories but specially,I am influenced too much from a book that name is 'Shipwreck'.This is story of brave police officer who is handling everything smoothly in his life.

Secondly,in previous days,I was so depressed due to my family issues.This was suggested by the librarian and the amazing thing was that it totally changed my way of thinking. I have completed around a week because it had only 100 Pages.I felt refresh and start my life journey again.

Lastly, I want to recommend this book to everyone who is facing trouble in their life and it also helpful to reduce anxiety,if reader like to do in morning with cup of coffe.Some people do not go with long books so this also helpful and good who likes stories like me.

At the end ,I just want to say that, this book have capacity of life changing.

Your sincerely,

Satveer Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three requested points: you identify the book as *Shipwreck*, describe its central character as a brave police officer, explain that it changed your thinking during a difficult period, and recommend it to readers facing problems. The personal account makes the letter relevant and gives a clear reason for your recommendation. However, the plot description is very brief, and the influence is not illustrated with a specific change in your actions or outlook. The claim that it can reduce anxiety, especially when read with coffee in the morning, is also not explained. Develop these points with one or two concrete details about the story and how it affected you, and clarify why others might respond similarly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: an opening, a description of the book, an account of its effect, and a recommendation. Sequencing phrases such as “First of all,” “Secondly,” and “Lastly” help readers follow the main stages, and the paragraphs broadly match the task points. At times, however, these transitions feel mechanical, and some connections between ideas are unclear. For example, “I have completed around a week” does not clearly show whether you mean you finished the book in about a week, while the coffee detail interrupts the recommendation. Use more natural links between related ideas, make references explicit, and group the reading experience and recommendation more smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the topic and your personal response, including “brave police officer,” “family issues,” “way of thinking,” and “anxiety.” The title and the reference to the book’s short length also help make the recommendation specific. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “influenced too much from a book,” “this was suggested by the librarian,” and “capacity of life changing.” There are also spelling and form errors, including “coffe” and “refresh.” These do not prevent the reader from understanding the main message, but they reduce precision. Learn common combinations such as “influenced by,” “recommended by,” and “life-changing,” and check spelling and word forms when editing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more developed sentence forms, including the explanation that the book changed your thinking and the recommendation for people facing difficulties. The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. Examples include “This is story” (missing an article), “who is handling” where the tense does not fit the past-tense description, “I felt refresh and start” (inconsistent verb forms), and “this book have” (subject–verb agreement). Sentence boundaries and punctuation also need attention: several sentences run together after full stops, and commas are often followed without a space. Practise accurate articles, agreement, and consistent past-tense narration, then proofread punctuation. More reliable control of these forms would make your varied sentences clearer.

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

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