Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Predictions Nov 2026 · 2026-11-10

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 want to inform you that I travel to my office from northfield to city via bus number 24, couple of times in week.

However, I am very expressed with the facilities provided by your company, but I am quite dissatisfied with the timings of the bus. Passenger have to wait for the longer period of time which creates the rush inside the bus.

It will be very helpful to me if you address this probem for all the passengers. I will be very thankful to you. Also I would like to suggest you that you can increase the number of buses of this route, which will be make the journey very convienient to us.

Your consdiration in this aspects will be highly solicited.

Yours faithfully

Gursahib Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You explain that you use the route to travel from Northfield to the city for work, and you identify unreliable timings and long waits as the main concern. You also suggest increasing the number of buses, so the key points are relevant. However, the reason for using the service is only briefly stated, and the problems are not illustrated with specific examples, such as how often buses are late or how this affects your work. The request to improve the service is also quite general. The response is 20 words below the required minimum, which limits the space available to develop all three points. Add concrete details and explain how the proposed changes would help passengers.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable structure: it introduces your journey, describes dissatisfaction, makes a suggestion, and closes politely. Linking expressions such as “However” and “Also” help show the relationship between points. The progression is generally clear, but the ideas are compressed, and the second paragraph combines your positive comment about facilities with your complaint about timings, creating an unclear contrast. The final request and thanks repeat the same general appeal rather than advancing the letter. Use separate paragraphs for your reason for writing, the specific service problems, and your proposed improvements. This would make the organisation more purposeful and help the reader follow each part of the request.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the basic issue, including “timings,” “passengers,” “rush,” and “number of buses.” The tone is generally appropriate for a formal complaint. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unclear, including “very expressed” (apparently intended to mean pleased), “address this problem for all the passengers,” and “highly solicited.” There are also spelling errors in “probem,” “convienient,” and “consdiration.” These choices make parts of the letter less natural and occasionally obscure your meaning. Aim for precise, conventional phrases for complaints and requests, and check spelling carefully before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The letter includes some simple sentences and attempts a more complex structure, for example, “Passenger have to wait for the longer period of time which creates the rush inside the bus.” However, errors in agreement, articles, and verb forms are frequent enough to affect accuracy: “Passenger have” should be plural or use a singular subject, “for the longer period” is not correctly formed, and “will be make” has an incorrect verb construction. The opening also lacks the requested full salutation, and punctuation around the closing could be more consistent. Practise checking subject–verb agreement and the verb pattern after modal verbs: use “will make,” not “will be make.” Short, accurate sentences can help you express the complaint clearly.

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

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