Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Predictions Nov 2026 · 2026-11-04

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 Sie or Madam,

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with your bus service. I always take it to go work and It is very useful for me because I do not need to walk to reach my workplace after getting off from bus. And my best friend is also take this bus to go to her workplace, due to this bus number 24 we could meet every day.

From last week, the number 24 bus is getting delay or miss. Moreover, I could not reach on time at work and they shouted me and deny for promotion because of late arrival. I always take this bus because where i am living just this bus is convenient for me to reach there.

I want to humble request to you for adding more bus services from Northfield to the city centre. So, all travelers can not disappointed with your buses or service.

Thank you for understanding and I look forward for you reply.

Yours faithfully,

Abc

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three points: you explain that you use the bus to get to work and that it is the only convenient route from where you live, describe delays or missed buses and their effect on your punctuality, and request more services. The purpose of the letter is clear and the details about work make the complaint relevant. However, some ideas are less fully developed than others. For example, the reason you and your friend meet on the bus is not clearly connected to the request, while the service problems would be stronger with a specific example of a missed or late journey. Explain more precisely how additional buses or another change would prevent these problems.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: it opens with the purpose, gives reasons for using the route and describes the difficulties, then makes a request and closes politely. Linking expressions such as “Moreover” and “So” help show connections, and the reader can follow the main complaint. To make the progression more consistently clear, separate the reasons for using the bus from the account of recent problems, and connect each proposed change directly to a problem. Some links are mechanical or unclear, particularly “due to this bus number 24 we could meet every day” and “So, all travelers can not disappointed.” More precise referencing and transitions would make the letter flow more naturally.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main points, including “bus service,” “workplace,” “promotion,” “travelers,” and “adding more bus services.” The tone is generally appropriate for a complaint letter, and phrases such as “express my dissatisfaction” show an attempt at formal language. However, several noticeable word-choice and collocation errors make parts awkward or unclear: “getting delay or miss,” “humble request,” and “can not disappointed” do not express the intended meanings naturally. There is also a spelling error in “Sie.” Build a more accurate range of common formal complaint phrases and transport collocations, and check spelling and word forms before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, and the main message is usually understandable. However, control is uneven, especially in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “my best friend is also take” needs a correctly formed verb, while “I could not reach on time at work” has an unclear grammatical pattern. The long sentence beginning “And my best friend” also joins ideas awkwardly, and capitalisation is inconsistent in “It” and “i.” Practise forming past and present verb phrases accurately and use shorter, well-controlled sentences when explaining the consequences of the delays. More accurate sentence patterns would make the complaint easier to read.

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

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