Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Predictions Nov 2026 · 2026-11-14

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 6.0)

Dear Sir,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing this letter to complain about the local bus service. Over the past few days, I deal with many difficulties regarding the bus.

Main problem I experienced is, usually bus arrival time is 8:00 am but over the past few days, it's arriving time is 8:30 am. Another important issue is overcrowing because of school students. Full bus is occupied by boys and girls.

These problems affect my daily routine as I work at the hospital as a physician. I have to deal with many emergencies and critical cases. But I always arrived late at the hospital and staff members also count my attendence. In addition, they also give me warning that they will cut half payment from salary.

I think you should provide more bus services in this local area. It is not only my problem, but it bothers to local residents and to pupils also. I believe that you will take important steps to improve the situation.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

Rajandeep Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three requested points: you report late and overcrowded buses, explain the consequences for your hospital work, and recommend more bus services. The impact is particularly clear in the reference to arriving late and receiving a warning about your salary. This gives the letter a relevant, consistent purpose. However, the problems and proposed solution are not fully developed: for example, you could explain how often the buses are late or overcrowded, and specify whether extra buses should run around 8 a.m. The opening “Dear Sir” also differs from the requested “Dear Sir or Madam,” though the formal closing is appropriate. More precise detail and fuller development would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: it opens with the reason for writing, describes the service problems, explains their effects, and ends with a recommendation and polite closing. Paragraphing helps the reader follow these stages, and links such as “Another important issue,” “In addition,” and “I think” make relationships between ideas clear. Some connections are less smooth, however. “Full bus is occupied by boys and girls” follows the overcrowding point without explaining how this relates to the bus being full, and “It is not only my problem, but it bothers to local residents and to pupils also” is awkwardly connected to the recommendation. Use clearer references and transitions to show how each point supports your request.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the complaint and its consequences, including “overcrowded,” “emergencies,” “critical cases,” and “improve the situation.” These choices suit the formal purpose, and the reader can understand the main message. However, several noticeable word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems reduce precision: “bus arrival time” and “it’s arriving time” are unnatural, “Full bus is occupied” does not express overcrowding naturally, and “attendence” is misspelled. “Cut half payment from salary” is also unclear as a description of the threatened deduction. Aim for standard service-related phrases and check spelling; more accurate collocations would make the letter sound more fluent and professional.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple sentences and some longer structures, such as “These problems affect my daily routine as I work at the hospital as a physician” and the sentence beginning “But I always arrived late.” The main ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors are noticeable. For example, “Main problem I experienced is” needs an article and a more suitable tense, while “usually bus arrival time is 8:00 am” has an incomplete noun phrase. Tense use also shifts between “I deal” and “I always arrived,” and “they will cut half payment” needs a clearer grammatical construction. Review articles, verb tense consistency, and sentence patterns, while retaining the variety of sentence forms you attempt.

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

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