Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-11

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,

I am writing this letter regarding an article in an international travel magazine which contained some information about my town which is incorrect.

Firstly, the magazine says that our town is not properly developed and that do not have and proper drainage system. I am writing this letter because this information is mot completely true because our town is enough developed for the tourism and drainage system is better than many other small towns.

Secondly, it is important to provide a correct information for your magazine because out town's main business is tourism and that going to be effect directly on our business. This is because your magazine has provide incorrect information about our town. I would appreciate if you can take an action to correct that information that you magazine provide wrong about my town.

I hope you going to consider my situation and taking the necessary action. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

your sincerely,

Karun Kumar

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter 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 repetitive, and the suggestion for the magazine is vague. While the task requirements are met, the response lacks the depth and specific detail required for a higher band score. The position is clear, but the supporting arguments could be more thoroughly extended.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. The use of cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'This is because' provides a basic logical flow. However, some transitions are mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'that going to be effect directly on our business'. The overall progression of ideas is logical, but the connection between sentences could be smoother to improve the flow of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. There are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'enough developed' instead of 'sufficiently developed' and 'take an action' instead of 'take action'. The phrase 'that going to be effect' shows a misuse of word forms. While the meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is limited, and the errors in word choice occasionally draw attention to the language rather than the message.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Examples include 'do not have and proper drainage' (missing subject/article), 'provide a correct information' (incorrect article usage), and 'your magazine has provide' (incorrect verb tense). Additionally, there are issues with sentence construction, such as 'I would appreciate if you can take an action to correct that information that you magazine provide wrong'. These errors are frequent and sometimes impede the clarity of the message.

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

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