Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-25

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,

I am writing to point out a mistake about my town that appeared in your article in the international travel magazine.When I noticed it on the previous day,I felt bad about the wrong information that you written in the article.

The article was related to the travel experiences of my home town Trivandrum, Kerala.Mainly,it shares the knowledege about the famous Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple situated over there.But, your editor made a mistake about the ruling power of temple being the goverment not the members of the travancore palace.

From my knowledge,this is the fact related to the temple.It belongs tothe authority of travancore palace.Because this temple is a living treasure for the people in that place.

I kindly request to the editor of international magazine that don't make wrong findings and ideas related to any place,where you don't have any knowledge or information.

Thank you for your prompt response and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best regards

Sree

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the central factual correction: the temple’s authority is associated with the Travancore royal family rather than the government, and you explain that it is a “living treasure” for local people. However, the task is only partly addressed because this explanation is brief and the importance of accurate information for international travellers is not clearly developed. Your request not to publish “wrong findings and ideas” is also general; you do not specify what the magazine should do now, such as publish a correction or amend the online article. Develop each bullet point more fully and make the requested action explicit. The letter’s purpose is clear, but the supporting ideas remain limited and some details are unclear.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable structure: you introduce the problem, give the correction, make a request, and close politely. Paragraphing helps separate these stages, and phrases such as “From my knowledge” signal a shift to your explanation. However, the progression is not always smooth: the temple’s ownership and its importance are presented in short, loosely connected statements, while the final request does not clearly follow from a specific proposed remedy. Some linking is mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “But” and “Because.” Improve the connections between the correction, its impact on readers, and the action you want the editor to take. Clearer referencing would also help readers follow what “it” and “this” refer to.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “ruling power,” “authority,” “international travel magazine,” and “living treasure,” so the main subject is understandable. There are also attempts at more formal expressions, such as “I kindly request.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “the knowledge about,” “wrong findings and ideas,” and “the article was related to the travel experiences.” Spelling errors such as “knowledege” and “goverment,” along with inconsistent capitalisation of “Travancore,” reduce precision. Choose more natural phrases for correcting published information and describing the temple’s administration. A broader, more accurate range would make the letter sound clearer and more appropriately formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, for example, “When I noticed it on the previous day, I felt bad…” and “Because this temple is a living treasure…”. The overall meaning can generally be followed, but some grammatical errors and punctuation problems remain. In “the wrong information that you written,” the verb form is incorrect; use “that you included” or “that was included.” The sentence beginning “Because” is a fragment, and “It belongs tothe authority” needs a space and a clearer grammatical construction. Several sentences also run together because spaces after full stops and commas are missing. Review verb forms, sentence boundaries, and punctuation, while keeping the useful variety of sentence structures you attempt.

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