Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-13

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You have just read an article in an international travel magazine which contained some information about your town that is incorrect.

Write a letter to the editor of the magazine. In your letter

• correct the information in the article
• explain why it is important for the magazine to give correct information
• suggest what the magazine should do about this situation

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Jim,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to express my concern about the article related to our town pertain some incorrect information.

In article, the infrastructure been widely discussed and lot of critics been highlighted. As you know, this town is very much old and maintained very well. Furthermore, this town mostly belong to old fashioned people and most of the people are aged who lived here. So they keep the ancient culture alive specially the buildings and houses.

However, your magazine is very much famous in all over the UK. Many people read the magazine daily and want to find the correct and accurate information in it. Many international people also go through that magazine and plan accordingly to visit such places.

Therefore, I will be grateful if you re-write the article and publish it on social media and magazine both. So, that many people can ready it easily without any hassle. Thank you for you time and considerate and I looking forward to hear from you.

Best Regards

Shahrukh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task: correcting the information, explaining the importance of accuracy, and suggesting a solution. However, the tone is inconsistent. You began with 'Dear Jim' despite the prompt explicitly instructing you to start with 'Dear Sir or Madam'. Furthermore, the explanation regarding the town's infrastructure and the 'old fashioned' nature of the residents is somewhat vague and does not clearly specify what the incorrect information actually was. To improve, ensure you provide concrete details about the error and maintain a formal tone throughout the letter, as it is addressed to an editor.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organised into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use some cohesive devices like 'Furthermore', 'However', and 'Therefore' to link your ideas. However, the flow is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing and repetitive sentence structures. For instance, the transition between the description of the town and the importance of the magazine's accuracy could be smoother. The use of referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the phrase 'many people can ready it', where the connection to the previous sentence is slightly mechanical. Improving the variety of linking words would enhance the overall cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and sophistication required for higher bands. You rely on basic descriptors like 'very much famous' and 'very much old', which are not natural collocations. There are also some word-choice errors, such as 'ready it' instead of 'read it' and 'considerate' instead of 'consideration'. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise adjectives and adverbs, and ensure you are using the correct word forms. Expanding your range of topic-specific vocabulary related to journalism or town planning would also be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally impede readability. Examples include 'the infrastructure been widely discussed' (missing auxiliary verb), 'this town mostly belong' (subject-verb agreement), and 'I looking forward to hear' (missing auxiliary verb). You rely mostly on simple sentence structures, and your attempts at more complex sentences often contain errors. To improve, focus on mastering basic subject-verb agreement, correct verb tenses, and the use of auxiliary verbs. Reviewing your work for these common errors before submitting will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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