Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing in response to your request to add a book that influenced me most in your article ' The book that influenced me most'. I want to tell about my favourite book ' Forty Rules of Love' as I believe people would love to read it.

'Forty Rules of Love' is written by a Turkish writer Elif Shafaq and is based on spiritual and ethical values. This book demonstrates the feelings and emotions of people who are judged by their sins. In addition, this book changes perspective of people towards society and promotes the spread of love to everyone regardless of their shortcomings and sins.

The book influenced me in various ways. First, it changed my negative thinking about sinners by teaching me that we should hate the bad deeds not the people commiting them. Secondly, since I read this book, I express more sympathy to the vulnerable individuals of society, such as I try my best to help poor people by donating money and buying medicine to ill people who cannot afford treatment.

I believe this book would be an excellent addition to your article by influencing other readers who value love, empathy, and wellbeing of a society. By reading the heart touching stories of different people, readers may be more careful about the emotions and sufferings of a prostitute, a drinker or a gambler rather than hating them.

Thank you for considering and adding 'Forty Rules of Love' to your valuable article.

Yours faithfully,

Rubab Asim

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 8.0

You cover all three requested points clearly: you identify the book and its themes, explain how it changed your attitude towards people who commit harmful acts, and say why it could affect other readers. The personal examples—donating money and buying medicine—make the influence convincing and relevant. Your recommendation is also supported by the idea that readers may become more empathetic towards people such as “a prostitute, a drinker or a gambler.” This gives the letter a clear purpose and develops its main ideas well. To make the response even more complete, describe the book’s subject or story more specifically; the account of its content is currently broad, focusing mainly on its values and effects.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5

The letter is organised in a clear sequence: you introduce your contribution, describe the book, explain its personal impact, and recommend it to other readers before closing politely. Paragraphing supports this progression, and signposts such as “First” and “Secondly” help the reader follow the examples. The links between the book’s message and your changed behaviour are generally easy to understand. Some transitions, however, feel a little formulaic, and the final paragraph repeats the recommendation already made in the opening. You could improve the flow by varying how ideas are linked and making the final paragraph a concise conclusion that draws together the book’s message and its likely effect on readers.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary to discuss the book’s themes and influence, including “spiritual and ethical values,” “sympathy,” “vulnerable individuals,” and “empathy.” These choices communicate your ideas clearly, and the examples give the letter a personal tone. There are also some imprecise or unnatural expressions that keep the vocabulary from sounding consistently controlled: “tell about my favourite book” would be more natural as “tell you about my favourite book,” while “the spread of love to everyone” is awkward in this context. Check spelling and word forms too: “commiting” should be “committing,” and “heart touching” is usually written “heart-touching.” Aim for natural collocations as well as ambitious vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “as,” “by,” and “who.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, and the letter’s overall structure is easy to follow. Some grammatical and punctuation issues remain. For example, “such as I try my best to help” does not fit grammatically after “such as”; you could write “for example, I try my best to help.” The sentence beginning “In addition, this book changes perspective” also needs a determiner or plural form (“changes people’s perspectives”). Review punctuation around quoted titles and avoid joining several ideas into long sentences without clear structure. More consistent control of these patterns would strengthen accuracy.

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