Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

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, has terrible mistakes like, you mentioned the Eastern hill station near to the Deccan municipal building which is not even close to each other. Instead, the Southern hill is quite closer to the municipal building.

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

To solve this situation you can release an apology letter in the public domain that would ease some tension. Although it may be not enough, at least your recognization will show your seriousness towards it and after that a revised version of that magazine can be published.

I appreciate your efforts to understand my concerns and in the future if this firm needs any kind of help, I would be glad to help as a loyal reader.

Yours sincerely,

John.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The letter successfully covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly identified the error regarding the location of the hill station, explained the importance of accuracy for the magazine's reputation, and proposed a logical solution (an apology and a revised version). The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to an editor. The ideas are well-developed and the purpose of the letter is clear from the outset. To reach a higher band, ensure that the explanation of why accuracy is important is slightly more nuanced, perhaps focusing more on the impact on the readers' travel plans rather than just the magazine's competition.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use some cohesive devices such as 'However', 'In addition', and 'Although', which help to link ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical or could be smoother. For example, the transition between the explanation of the error and the importance of accuracy could be more fluid. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate and the progression of ideas is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'draw your kind attention', 'stunning holiday destinations', and 'public domain' are used effectively. There are some minor issues with word choice, such as 'follow their data' (which sounds slightly unnatural; 'rely on your information' would be better) and 'recognization' (which is a misspelling of 'recognition'). While the vocabulary is adequate for the task, incorporating more precise collocations would elevate the response to a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is good. However, there are several grammatical slips that occur throughout the text. For instance, 'in the last edition... has terrible mistakes' is grammatically incorrect (the subject is missing or the verb is misplaced). Additionally, 'which is not even close to each other' should be 'which are not even close to each other'. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and sentence construction will help improve your accuracy.

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

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