Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-15

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 Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter to draw your kind attention towards some mistakes in your last publication.

Your magazine is well-known across the nation for publishing various stunning holiday destinations. However, in the last edition, published in November, had terrible mistakes likewise; you mentioned the Eastern hill station near to the Deccan municipal building which is not even close to each others. Instead, the Southern hill is closer to the municipal building.

Providing accurate information is crucial for any magazine because thousands of readers observe their data and any mistake like this would affect the credibility of the firm. In addition, to remain competitive many other publishing firms would take this event as an opportunity to defame

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the development of the task. While you have addressed the first two bullet points—correcting the information and explaining the importance of accuracy—the final bullet point regarding a suggestion for the magazine is completely missing as the letter ends abruptly. Because the task is incomplete and under-length, the development of ideas is insufficient. To improve, ensure you fully address all three bullet points and expand your arguments to meet the length requirement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter shows a basic attempt at logical organization. You use a formal opening and attempt to transition between points using phrases like 'However' and 'In addition'. However, the abrupt ending makes the overall structure feel incomplete. Paragraphing is present, but the lack of a concluding sentence or a proper sign-off hinders the flow. To improve, ensure each paragraph has a clear focus and that you include a formal closing, such as 'Yours faithfully,' to provide a sense of completion to the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, though somewhat repetitive and limited in range. You use some appropriate terms like 'credibility', 'publication', and 'stunning'. However, there are some awkward collocations, such as 'observe their data' (readers do not observe data in a magazine) and 'terrible mistakes likewise'. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the basic meaning, but it lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band score. Try to incorporate more sophisticated synonyms and ensure collocations are natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

There is a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but the accuracy is inconsistent. You have some grammatical errors, such as 'not even close to each others' (should be 'each other') and 'in the last edition, published in November, had terrible mistakes' (the sentence lacks a clear subject). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to affect the overall quality. Focus on subject-verb agreement and ensuring that your complex sentences are grammatically sound.

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

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