Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You enjoy walking in the countryside near your home. However, you are noticing that there is more and more litter left there by other walkers.

Write a letter to your local newspaper. In your letter

• say why you enjoy walking and where

• describe the litter you have seen on your walks

• suggest what might be done about the problem

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 6.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing this letter to express my strong disappointment with more and more litter is being left by other walkers on the walking path near the countryside. To be precise, my house is located on the 69 Curtis Drive, Truro and I take a walk every morning near the countryside elementary school.

I enjoy walking there for very specific reason is that it keeps me sane and entertained. However, recently, I have been noticing that there are a number of walkers who are throwing empty plastic water bottles and chips packets on the walking path. This is making absolutely quite challenging for other people like me to walk freely.

Therefore, I would appreciate it if you could make a sign up there, such as heavy penalties for doing irresponsible activities.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards,

Tirth

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three points: you explain that walking “keeps me sane and entertained,” identify the path near the countryside elementary school, describe discarded bottles and chip packets, and propose signs and penalties. The purpose is clear and appropriate for a letter to a newspaper. However, some points are less fully developed than others. The reason you enjoy walking is brief, and the proposed response is not explained in practical detail: for example, you could suggest who should install signs, what they should say, or whether bins and community clean-ups might also help. The location is specific, but the reference to your home address is unnecessary here. Developing the suggestions and supporting your concerns would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: it opens by stating the concern, gives background and examples, then makes a request and closes politely. Paragraphing helps separate these stages, and linking expressions such as “However” and “Therefore” make the progression easy to follow. This already shows some flexibility beyond a basic sequence. At times, though, the connections feel mechanical or the reference is unclear. In “I am writing this letter to express my strong disappointment with more and more litter is being left,” the relationship between the complaint and the following clause is not smoothly expressed. The final request also moves quickly from the litter problem to penalties. Use clearer sentence links and explain how the proposed action would address the behaviour.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range to communicate the topic, including “strong disappointment,” “empty plastic water bottles,” “chips packets,” and “heavy penalties.” These choices make the complaint and the litter easy to understand, and the tone is generally suitable for a formal letter. There are some inaccurate or unnatural word combinations, however. “Express my strong disappointment with more and more litter is being left” does not fit grammatically as a phrase, while “make a sign up there” is not a natural way to describe installing a notice. “Chips packets” is also less idiomatic than “crisp packets” or “snack wrappers.” Aim for precise collocations and a more formal description of the litter and proposed measures.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the contrast introduced by “However” and the conditional request, “I would appreciate it if you could…”. The message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors affect accuracy. In “I am writing this letter to express my strong disappointment with more and more litter is being left,” the clause after “with” is not correctly formed; use a noun phrase or a clause introduced by “that.” The sentence “I enjoy walking there for very specific reason is that…” also combines structures without a clear grammatical link. There are further issues with articles and sentence construction in “my house is located on the 69 Curtis Drive.” Practise building complete clauses and checking articles and punctuation, while retaining your attempts at varied structures.

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