Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-05

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)

hello,

i am writing a letter regarding the issue about incorrect article information which is in the magazine. the article is regarding the surat city which is located between ahmedabad and mumbai city and it is neat and clean city and 5th ranked clean city. surat is popular for jewellery and construction business.this information is in the article.i want to correct that this city held 3rd ranked in 2020 because of it is clean and green planted city.

i want to mention another thing, that is known as a diamond hub and textile market. This information is given an international magazine which is incorrect and if it will be not correcting in future then many people read this information internationally and it will mislead throughout business.

This is totally incorrect and it is already in the magazine so i can only suggest that you can only do withdraw the magazine and correct the mistake and republic this magazine that way give city justice and increase the economy level.

i hope you are understand the situation and realise how important to correct the article. i request that as soon as possible correct the article.

thankyou,

xyz.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task, meeting the basic requirements by correcting the information about Surat, explaining why accuracy matters for international readers, and suggesting a course of action. However, some parts are more fully developed than others. While the correction of the rankings and the economic significance is noted, the explanation regarding the international impact ('it will mislead throughout business') and the suggested solution ('withdraw the magazine and correct the mistake and republic this magazine') lack sufficient extension and clarity. The writer attempts to cover all bullet points in a relevant manner, but the overall development of ideas remains somewhat limited and repetitive, which prevents a higher evaluation for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement and follows a clear communicative purpose, moving from the introduction of the issue to corrections, consequences, and a final request. However, cohesion is frequently mechanical and repetitive, with over-reliance on basic conjunctions and transitions like 'that is', 'and it will', and 'this information'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of ideas is somewhat disjointed, particularly in the middle section where sentences run together without clear internal progression or effective referencing. Pronoun referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'it is clean and green planted city' following a discussion of rankings. These organizational flaws give the text a choppy feel and limit the flow of ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully communicating the basic message about the city of Surat, its ranking, and its status as a diamond and textile hub. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary such as 'international travel magazine', 'jewellery and construction business', and 'diamond hub', but these attempts are accompanied by notable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and word form, such as 'clean and green planted city' and 'republic this magazine'. Furthermore, spelling and word-formation errors, such as 'thankyou' and missing capitalisation on proper nouns, appear throughout the text. These lexical limitations and errors are noticeable, though they do not completely impede the overall understanding of the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing demonstrates a limited range of structures, relying mostly on simple sentences joined by coordinating conjunctions alongside a few basic attempts at complex clauses (e.g., 'if it will be not correcting in future then many people read this information'). There are frequent errors in grammar, including tense consistency ('is in the magazine', 'is regarding', 'will be not correcting'), article omission and misuse ('the surat city', 'international magazine'), and preposition usage. Punctuation and sentence boundaries are also weak, with run-on sentences and a lack of proper capitalisation at the beginning of sentences (e.g., 'surat is popular', 'This information'). While the meaning can generally be deciphered, the frequency of grammatical errors causes some difficulty for the reader and restricts the text to a simpler structural range.

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