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 or Madam,

I am writing to express my concern regarding your bus service. I am travelling in city bus service from last five years regularly. My experience is outstanding and most of the time I like to travel by bus rather than cars. Hoowever, from last week I observed some issues in transit service.

I am a working individual and I am working at restaurant near by city centre. Most of the time I travel by bus number 24 because it is very convinient for me. I always catch this bus from the corner of my street and it is dropped me at city centre in 15 minutes.

Unfortunately, from last week I was facing some issues in your bus service that is card reader machine was not working due we need to carry cash. Moreover, sometimes that bus came too late due to I reached late at work.

From last five years, I am travelling in same bus service I didn't saw any problem but this problems effect on my working schedule. Therefore, I am requesting to you please solve this problem as soon as possible. If you do not have issue then I would like to suggest a way that is reporting driver should report immidately to company about problem so you can fix it.

I appericiate you for giving me your valuable time and I hope ypu will fix it as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully,

Abhishek.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three points and maintain a suitably formal purpose: you explain that you use the bus to reach your restaurant job, describe the faulty card reader and late arrivals, and ask the company to act. The details that the stop is near your street and the journey takes 15 minutes make your reason for using the service clear. This fully covers the task, while some ideas are less developed: for example, you do not say how often the bus is late or explain the practical impact of having to carry cash. Your proposed solution—drivers reporting problems promptly—is relevant, but could be more specific, such as asking for a timetable update or a backup payment option. More developed support would make the request more persuasive.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: it opens with the purpose, gives background about your journeys, describes the service problems, and ends with a request and sign-off. Paragraphing helps distinguish these stages, and connectors such as “Unfortunately,” “Moreover,” and “Therefore” guide the reader. However, some links feel mechanical or do not express the relationship clearly. For instance, “Moreover” introduces a second problem, but the sentence itself is difficult to follow, while “From last five years” repeats information already given in the opening. The final request also moves quickly from describing the impact to proposing a solution. Use clearer references and organise each paragraph around one main point to improve progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main concerns, including “bus service,” “card reader machine,” “cash,” and “working schedule.” There are also attempts at more formal expressions, such as “express my concern” and “I appreciate you for giving me your valuable time.” However, several inaccurate or unnatural choices make the letter less fluent, including “travelling in city bus service,” “it is dropped me,” and “reporting driver.” Spelling errors such as “convinient,” “immidately,” and “appericiate” are noticeable. Aim for accurate, natural collocations rather than adding formal-sounding phrases; this will make your meaning clearer and your tone more consistent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a conditional suggestion beginning “If you do not have issue” and a reason introduced by “because.” The main message remains understandable, but errors in verb forms, tense, articles, and sentence construction are frequent enough to affect clarity. For example, “it is dropped me at city centre” needs a passive or active construction such as “it drops me off in the city centre,” and “from last week I was facing” would be more naturally expressed as “since last week, I have been experiencing.” The sentence about the card reader also needs a clearer grammatical link between the fault and the need to carry cash. Practise accurate sentence patterns before extending them.

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

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