Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-18

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,

My name is Lovepreet, Recentely, I read an article in an international magazine that included some incorrect information about my town. I am writing to request that you correct the inaccurate information published in your magazine.

You mentioned that my town is unsafe, undeveloped, but this information is inaccurate. However, there are many attractions that attract tourists every year. Furthermore, my hometown has all the essential facilities that local residents need, icluding good schools, hospitals, shops and public transport.

It is very imperative for the magazine to give correct information, not only can inaccurate information spread misinformation, but it can aslo undermine the public trust.

I would be grateful if you could publish accua

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AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers all three bullet points from the prompt: you correct the misinformation about your town being unsafe and undeveloped, explain why accurate information matters to avoid spreading misinformation and undermining public trust, and attempt to suggest a correction. However, the letter is incomplete and trails off mid-sentence at the end ('I would be grateful if you could publish accua'). Furthermore, the task requires a minimum of 150 words, but this response contains only 119 words. Because of this significant under-length issue and the incomplete final sentence, Task Achievement cannot exceed Band 5.0. To improve, ensure you fully develop all ideas and carefully monitor your word count during the exam.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter opens with the required standard greeting 'Dear Sir or Madam,' and is organised into paragraphs. There is an attempt at logical progression as you move from identifying the issue to correcting the facts and explaining the importance of accuracy. However, cohesion is affected by punctuation and spacing errors, such as 'Recentely, I read' and the abrupt cutoff at the end. Paragraphing is visible, but the abrupt ending limits the overall cohesion and development of the text. To achieve a higher band, make sure your writing flows logically from start to finish with appropriate linking devices and reaches a natural, complete conclusion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, with some appropriate terms such as 'inaccurate', 'essential facilities', and 'public trust'. However, there are several spelling and word choice errors, including 'Recentely' instead of 'recently', 'aslo' instead of 'also', and the incomplete word 'accua'. You also repeat words like 'information' and 'inaccurate' closely together, which limits lexical variety. To score higher, you should demonstrate a wider range of less common vocabulary and ensure accurate spelling throughout your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response shows a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'Furthermore, my hometown has all the essential facilities that local residents need...'. There are some grammatical errors and punctuation slips, such as the comma splice in 'You mentioned that my town is unsafe, undeveloped, but this information is inaccurate' and spelling mistakes like 'icluding'. Additionally, the sentence starting with 'not only can inaccurate information' contains a structural inversion error in its clause connection. Because the text cuts off abruptly, complex grammatical structures are left unfinished. To improve, focus on sentence structure accuracy and proper punctuation.

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

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