Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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

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 am writing to complain about the constant littering of wastes along the countryside.

Most of time when I return from work, I always take a evening walks to exercise my legs around the country-side to a place called Ekosodin town hall. I always walk there because of the exciting spots like public cultural display that takes place around the vicinity. Most of the times I get my dinner at the town cafeteria.

Earlier, the route leading to the town was always neat and smells good but lately there have been issue of littering rubbish such as empty cans, baby diapers and other waste. Thus , this waste results in bad odour around the country side therby making it uncomfortable to pedestrians.

I urge the local government to look into this situation and provide appropriate remedy for it.

I awaits your immediate response

Your!faithfully,

Nnamdi Destiny

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall6.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The letter addresses the main situation and includes relevant details: you explain that you walk near Ekosodin town hall for exercise and to enjoy cultural displays, identify cans and baby diapers as litter, and ask the local government to act. However, the response only partly fulfils the purpose of writing to a newspaper. The proposed remedy, “provide appropriate remedy,” is too general to show what should happen, and the reason you enjoy the area could be developed more clearly. The opening complaint is clear, but the closing request for an “immediate response” is less suited to a newspaper appeal. Give specific measures, such as adding bins, arranging regular clean-ups, or publicising penalties.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The information is arranged in a generally clear sequence: the opening states the concern, the next paragraph describes your walks, the following paragraph explains how the route has changed, and the final lines make a request. This paragraphing helps the reader follow the letter, and links such as “but lately” and “Thus” show the relationship between the past condition, the current problem, and its effect. To make the progression more polished, connect the suggested action directly to the litter problem and avoid abrupt transitions between enjoying the area and describing the route. The final request and sign-off also feel slightly disconnected from the newspaper audience. Overall, the organisation is effective, though some links and references could be more natural.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the issue, including “littering,” “empty cans,” “baby diapers,” and “bad odour.” There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “public cultural display” and “appropriate remedy.” However, several word choices and collocations are noticeably unnatural or imprecise, including “littering of wastes,” “a evening walks,” and “smells good.” These choices sometimes make the reader pause, even though the overall meaning remains understandable. Aim for natural combinations such as “litter along the route,” “an evening walk,” and “smells fresh.” More precise language for proposed solutions would also strengthen the letter, for example “install rubbish bins” or “organise regular clean-ups.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response includes both simple sentences and some attempts to combine ideas, as in “Earlier, the route … was always neat … but lately there have been issue…”. The main message is generally understandable, but errors in sentence structure and grammatical forms are frequent enough to affect accuracy. For example, “Most of time” needs an article, “a evening walks” has an article and number mismatch, and “there have been issue” has incorrect agreement. The closing “I awaits” also has a subject–verb agreement error. Punctuation is sometimes awkward, as in “Thus ,” and “Your!faithfully,”. Review articles, singular/plural agreement, and verb forms, then proofread punctuation and sentence boundaries.

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

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