Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-03

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 5.0)

Dear Sir Editor,

I'm writing regarding the article you written called 'The book that influenced me most' , i'm very thankful to the book ' The Gold Heart' you written last month, it's very useful to me the stories of this book because i can relate the roles of the characters to my personal life, same as the main characters experiencing a difficulties on how he survives to live in peace and safer to the other people who always argued with him in his community. I felt that when you have a good heart, you can always feel near to God, so you can easilly live with a good minds without any enemies that always think that you are not good enough for them. I think this book also make influence other people to understand that being a good person is always better to live in good manner with out enemies to make.

Respectfully yours,

RD

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the book as *The Gold Heart* and give a relevant account of its message: the main character faces difficulties and seeks to live peacefully with others. You also explain a personal influence, saying that having a good heart brings you closer to God, and you suggest that readers may learn to be good and avoid conflict. However, the book’s subject is described unclearly, and the explanation of its effect on you is brief and difficult to follow. The prediction about its influence on other people is also general rather than supported with a specific reason or example. Develop each point more fully and make the book’s plot and your personal change clearer.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response follows a broadly sensible order: it introduces the book, describes its characters and message, then comments on its effect on you and other readers. This gives the reader a basic sense of the letter’s purpose. However, nearly all the ideas are packed into one long paragraph and one extended sentence, so the progression is hard to follow. Connections such as “so” and “because” are used, but the relationships between ideas are sometimes unclear, particularly in the opening sentence. Use separate paragraphs for the book’s content, its personal influence, and its likely effect on others, and divide long sentences into clearer units.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “characters,” “personal life,” “community,” and “good heart,” which helps convey the book’s theme. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations make the meaning less natural, such as “relate the roles of the characters,” “make influence other people,” and “live in good manner.” There are also spelling and form errors, including “easilly” and “minds,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise expressions to describe the plot and its impact, and check common collocations and spelling. For example, you could say that you “identified with the characters” and that the book “could influence readers.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to express several connected ideas in complex sentences, and the reader can generally understand the main message. However, the response relies heavily on long, loosely joined sentences, and errors are frequent enough to make some parts difficult to interpret. Examples include “the article you written,” “the main characters experiencing a difficulties,” and “this book also make influence,” which show problems with verb forms, agreement, and sentence construction. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, as in the lowercase “i” and the comma before the quotation mark in the opening. Use shorter sentences and check that each has a clear subject and correctly formed verb.

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