Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Predictions Nov 2026 · 2026-11-07

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You take the number 24 bus from Northfield to the city centre several times a week. Recently, you have found it difficult to plan your journeys because you cannot rely on the service. You decide to write to the bus company to explain your concerns and ask it to improve the service.

Write a letter to the bus company. In your letter

• explain why you use this bus service
• describe the problems you have experienced with it
• suggest what changes the company could make to improve the service

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Sir,

I'm writing this letter for register my complain against your bus service.First i want to highlight that i used only your bus service for most of the time due to your cooparative staff . They are so gentle and have immense manners how to deal with customers.They deal every customer equally either passengers have a business class or local ticket.

But recently I had faced a bad experience with your service espacially the bus seats . I know your company had recently updagred their buses with the lateast one but they are so unconfortable for any old age person , space is limited for legs . Just imagine a person who suppose to travel for 6-7 hrs cannot sit in congested space even can't strech their legs if he feel tired .

Journey should be confortable , i would like to suggest you please consider my request and add more space in each seat section , every person can stright their feets when they want without and trouble .

I hope you will aknowldge my complain , look heared back from you soon.

Your Faithfuly,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You explain that you use the service because of its staff, and you describe a specific concern about uncomfortable seats and limited legroom. You also make a relevant request for more space between seats. However, the task asks why you use the bus to travel from Northfield to the city centre, and your reason is not fully clear: the reference to staff does not explain the journey’s purpose or why this route is necessary. The problems are also described mainly in terms of seating, without explaining how unreliable service affects your ability to plan journeys. Develop these points and make the requested service improvements more specific to the concerns raised.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable progression: you introduce your complaint, describe a positive feature, explain the seating problem, and make a request. Paragraph breaks help distinguish these stages, and phrases such as “But recently” signal a change in direction. However, the opening moves from praising staff to the complaint without clearly connecting these ideas, and the long example about a six-to-seven-hour journey is difficult to follow. Some links are mechanical, while references such as “they” and “their” are not always clear. Organise the letter around the three requested points and use shorter, more clearly connected sentences to make the progression easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for a formal complaint, including “service,” “customers,” “uncomfortable,” and “congested space.” However, the range is limited and several spelling and word-choice errors make parts of the letter harder to understand, such as “register my complain,” “cooparative,” and “aknowldge my complain.” Some expressions are also unnatural, including “immense manners” and “stright their feets.” Aim for accurate, natural collocations and check spelling carefully. More precise terms such as “reliable timetable,” “legroom,” and “seat spacing” would help you describe the service problems and proposed changes clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, for example when explaining that a passenger cannot sit comfortably in a congested space. However, many sentences contain errors in structure, tense, articles, or agreement, which sometimes make the meaning difficult to follow. Examples include “I'm writing this letter for register,” “I had faced a bad experience,” and “a person who suppose to travel.” The sentence beginning “Just imagine” also shifts between “a person” and “their” without a clear grammatical structure. Practise forming accurate complaint-letter sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check verb forms and punctuation before submitting.

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