Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Predictions Nov 2026 · 2026-11-13

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You take local buses to get to work in Westbridge. Your journey usually starts at the Central Market stop at about 8.00 a.m., and lately you have found it hard to count on the buses. Write a letter to the director of the local bus service and tell them about the problems you are facing.

Write a letter to the director of the local bus service. In your letter

• describe the problems you have experienced, including buses that are often late and overcrowded
• explain how these problems affect your daily routine
• suggest changes the bus service could make to improve the 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 or Madam,

I'm here by to address the problem that I've been facing lately with local bus services in the city. I consider myself a regular as well as responsible customer. I commute daily at 8:00 AM from Central market to Westbridge to work via local busses.

Recently, I've been noticing long delays in services especialy during the weater season on the snowy days. The other passanges and I often have to wait for long and somthines over 30 minutes in extreme cold weather. Due to this I often reach late to work.

Therefor, I'm wanting to request a change with the local bus services that can help the local cummuters and me to get to our destinations on time. I strongly believe that there has to be more number of busses scattered around to cities so that in case of mechanical issue or weather change, an alternate bus can take place without causing any further delyes.

Making this change would actually help all the local commuters reach to their work or home on time. I hope that you look into this matter as earliest as possible.

Kind regards,

Ravi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You establish the situation clearly by identifying your regular 8 a.m. journey from Central Market to Westbridge and describing delays of over 30 minutes in cold weather. You also explain a practical consequence—arriving late for work—and suggest having more buses available as alternatives. However, the task is only partly addressed: overcrowding, specifically required in the prompt, is not mentioned, and the proposed change is not developed beyond adding buses in case of mechanical or weather problems. The letter would be more complete if you described what happens when buses are crowded and explained how extra or more frequent services could address both problems. A clearer, more fully developed request would make the purpose stronger.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: you introduce the complaint, describe its effect on your commute, propose a change, and close politely. Paragraphing helps the reader follow these stages, and links such as “Recently,” “Due to this,” and “Therefor” show an effort to connect ideas. The progression is generally easy to understand, though some connections are a little mechanical, and the final request could be linked more directly to the specific delays described. For example, explain how additional buses or a more reliable timetable would reduce waiting. The phrase “Making this change” refers back to your suggestion, but the proposal itself could be stated more precisely to make that reference clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main complaint and its consequences, including “long delays,” “extreme cold weather,” “commuters,” and “alternate bus.” There are also attempts at more formal language, such as “I strongly believe” and “look into this matter.” However, several spelling errors and awkward or inaccurate word choices reduce precision, including “busses,” “passanges,” “somthines,” “delyes,” and “scattered around to cities.” Some expressions, such as “I'm here by to address” and “more number of busses,” are not natural in a formal complaint letter. Aim for accurate, conventional collocations and proofread spelling; this will make your meaning more fluent and professional.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mixture of simple sentences and longer structures, including “Due to this I often reach late to work” and the conditional clause beginning “so that in case of mechanical issue or weather change.” The main message remains understandable, but errors in sentence construction and grammatical forms are noticeable. For example, “I'm here by to address” has an awkward infinitive construction, while “I'm wanting to request” uses an unnatural verb form for a formal request. In “there has to be more number of busses scattered around to cities,” the structure is difficult to follow, and the conditional clause needs clearer grammatical organisation. Practise direct request forms and build longer sentences around one clear main clause.

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

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