Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-04

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 6.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing a letter in respond to an article which I read in an international travel magazine about my home town Sudbury. I found some incorrect information about hygiene.

Firstly, Sudbury is very spic and span area to live as I am living over here from last 20 years. Moreover, I read that in an article it is mention that place is full of plastic and people do not aware of garbage system which is totally wrong. We have wastage collecting system and people over here is following from last 5 years and composting it very carefully.

Secondly, I think it is very important for magazine what they are printing in it because this is a most preferable media by the public. Furthermore, it is media responsibilities that whatever they show or written must be true and reliable.

Lastly, I would like to say before printing anything just go to the place visit it then write what is true about the place also if you want to visit our area I would personally welcome you.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I will make sure you look in to these matter.

Yours faithfully,

Kaira Boss

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all three bullet points of the prompt: correcting the information, explaining the importance of accuracy, and suggesting a solution. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to an editor. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation of why accuracy is important is a bit repetitive, and the suggestion to 'visit the place' is a standard, rather than a highly developed, solution. To reach a higher band, you should provide more specific details about the town's actual waste management system to contrast more effectively with the magazine's claims, thereby strengthening your argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each addressing a specific part of the prompt. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly,' 'Moreover,' 'Secondly,' and 'Lastly' to guide the reader. While these are effective, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical. For example, the transition between the description of the town and the importance of media accuracy could be smoother. Referencing is generally clear, though some sentence structures are slightly awkward, which occasionally disrupts the natural progression of your argument. Overall, the structure is coherent and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message, but there are instances of unnatural word choice and collocation errors. For example, 'spic and span area' is an informal idiom that does not fit the formal tone of a letter to an editor. 'Wastage collecting system' is also slightly unnatural; 'waste management system' would be more precise. There are also minor errors such as 'do not aware of' (should be 'are not aware of'). While your vocabulary is adequate for the task, you need to focus on more precise, formal collocations to achieve a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that, while not impeding communication, are noticeable. Examples include 'I am writing a letter in respond to' (should be 'in response to'), 'I am living over here from last 20 years' (should be 'have lived here for the last 20 years'), and 'people over here is following' (should be 'are following'). Subject-verb agreement and preposition usage are areas that require more attention. To improve, focus on mastering present perfect tense for duration and ensuring subject-verb consistency.

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

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