Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-28

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,

A couple of week ago, your international magazine,in its 250th edition published an article about my town.

Your magazine written everything right about our town except few things. Its written in your article that migratory birds visit our town during april.While the correct information is that they start to visit our town from early February. So correcting this information is very important for your magazine and also for the people,who lives in our town and different town as well.

Therefore, i would like to request you to solve the issue and correct the information in your article.Because this information misleading the people.And i also request you to publish the article when you have correct information about that material.

I will be thankful to you

yours faithfully,

Syed muhammad ali

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the key correction: the birds begin arriving in early February, not April, and you explain that inaccurate information could mislead readers. You also ask the magazine to correct the article. However, the explanation of why accuracy matters is brief, and the final suggestion to publish only when the information is correct is not very specific about how the magazine should address this published error. The letter is also below the required 150 words, so the task is only partially developed. Add details about the impact on visitors or local residents, and request a clear remedy, such as publishing a correction in the next issue and updating the online article.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The ideas follow a generally sensible order: you introduce the article, state the factual correction, explain why it matters, and make a request. Linking expressions such as “While,” “Therefore,” and “also” help show these relationships, and the message is understandable overall. To make the progression clearer and more polished, separate the purpose of the letter, the correction, and the requested action into distinct paragraphs. Some links are awkward or incomplete, particularly “Because this information misleading the people,” which does not connect smoothly to the preceding sentence. Use complete sentences and clearer references so the reader can follow each point without having to infer how the ideas relate.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main facts and purpose, with relevant terms such as “migratory birds,” “correct information,” and “article.” However, the range is limited, and several word choices or forms sound unnatural, including “solve the issue,” “about that material,” and “different town.” These choices make parts of the request less precise. Aim for more specific language suited to a formal letter, such as describing the article as containing an “inaccurate detail” and asking the editor to “issue a correction.” Check spelling and capitalisation as well, including “April” and “I,” to make the writing more professional.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You communicate using mostly simple sentence patterns, with an attempt at a more complex contrast in “While the correct information is that…”. However, errors occur frequently and sometimes make the reader pause. For example, “A couple of week ago” has a number agreement error, “your magazine written everything” is missing an auxiliary verb, and “people, who lives” has incorrect agreement. The sentence beginning “Because this information…” is also a fragment, and “I will be thankful to you” lacks a natural grammatical construction. Practise accurate past-tense forms, subject–verb agreement, articles, and complete sentence boundaries. A few carefully controlled complex sentences would also broaden your range.

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

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