Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-22

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 Rajiv Sir,

I hope you are doing well, I am writing this letter to help your magazine company to correct the false information provided by mistake. Actually, I was simply surfing the internet, where I found your digital magazine and decided to read it out loud infront of my friends at an event. Apparently, while reading the second page of the magazine I found that the information given was inaccurate. The provided information states that Barrie was founded in 1882 and the beloved dragon statue was all about a viral internet picture. To be very precise, our city was founded in 1880 by Robert and the spirit dragon was a real water animal, which looks like a dragon and was captured in 1889 and after that it got disappeared, so in that memory they made a spirit statue of a dragon. Though, the overall information provided was precise and accurate other than those two corrected. I wanted to share this because, I dont want public to refer false information. Hoping for an early response from your side.

Yours faithfully,

Vraj Patel.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify two specific inaccuracies—the founding date and the story behind the dragon statue—and provide replacement details, so the central correction is relevant. However, the task’s three parts are not all adequately addressed. You only briefly say you do not want the public to refer to false information; the importance of accurate travel information would be clearer if you explained how visitors might make plans or form impressions based on it. Most importantly, you do not suggest what the magazine should do, such as publish a correction or update the digital article. The opening also addresses “Rajiv Sir” rather than the required editor, and the letter’s purpose and details could be presented more directly. Develop the explanation and include a clear remedy to address the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The letter has a recognisable sequence: you introduce your purpose, describe where you found the article, identify the errors, and close with a concern about misinformation. Linking expressions such as “Actually,” “Apparently,” and “To be very precise” help signal movement between points. However, most of the content is packed into one long paragraph, so the corrections, their importance, and the requested action are not clearly separated. The transition “Though, the overall information…” is also confusing because it interrupts the explanation without advancing the letter’s purpose. A clearer progression would use separate paragraphs for the inaccuracies, why they matter, and what the editor should do. More precise referencing would also make the relationship between the article’s claims and your corrections easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of vocabulary for explaining the situation, including “inaccurate,” “founded,” “captured,” and “refer false information.” These choices make the main subject understandable, and “beloved dragon statue” adds some descriptive detail. There are, however, several awkward or imprecise expressions that limit naturalness, such as “help your magazine company to correct,” “read it out loud infront of my friends,” and “the overall information provided was precise and accurate other than those two corrected.” “Spirit dragon” and “real water animal” may also not communicate the intended local story clearly. Aim for more conventional formal-letter phrasing and precise descriptions, for example, “correct the article,” “read it aloud,” and “the two inaccuracies mentioned above.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of sentence forms, including a longer explanation of the statue’s history and a subordinate clause beginning “while reading the second page.” The main facts remain understandable, but some sentence boundaries and structures are not controlled consistently. The opening joins two independent clauses with a comma: “I hope you are doing well, I am writing…”; use a full stop or a suitable conjunction. The sentence beginning “The provided information states…” becomes difficult to follow when several events are joined with “and after that.” “Though, the overall information…” is also an incomplete or awkwardly attached contrast. Review punctuation, clause structure, and tense consistency, and divide long explanations into shorter sentences. These changes would make your meaning easier to process.

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

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