Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-11

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

Student answer (Band 6.0)

Dear Sir,

I am writing this letter to complaint about a collection of garbage service which is very unpredictable.

The main problem is that nowadays garbage collector team do not pay attention in our area because trash has been collected only once in two weeks.This situation creates hazards for people.

Trash spread unpleasant odor and can be dangerous for children and old people's health because our neighborhood do not have any waste material collector large boxes in which people can store their overflow garbage. Sometimes, other animals also touch the garbage in an appropriate way which can affect their health as well.

For solution , you should assign some workers who can pickup the garbage at least once in a week. It is understandable that sometimes it is difficult to collect due to some weather or other reasons. But, it is also a essential part for cleaning our area.

I hope you will take some action immediately.

Kind regards,

Pawan Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter covers all parts of the task by addressing the complaint regarding unpredictable garbage collection, explaining the resulting health hazards, and proposing a clear solution. The tone of the letter is appropriate for a formal complaint to an authority figure ("Dear Sir", "I am writing this letter"). The ideas are relevant and sufficiently extended, such as mentioning the lack of large waste collector boxes and the impact on children and the elderly. However, some minor details could be further expanded for a higher band. Overall, the requirements of the task have been addressed adequately, resulting in a solid performance that meets the criteria for Band 6.5, which rounds to Band 6.0 in standard reporting.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement with a traditional letter structure, including appropriate salutations and sign-offs. Paragraphing is utilised to separate the introduction, the problem description, the proposed solution, and the closing remark. Cohesive devices are generally present, though some referencing and transitions are a bit mechanical or basic, such as starting paragraphs with "The main problem is..." and "For solution...". Paragraph transitions work well enough to ensure the reader can follow the progression of ideas without difficulty. While paragraphing and logical sequencing are evident, the mechanical use of cohesive ties keeps this criterion firmly at Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as "unpredictable", "unpleasant odor", and "hazards". However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text. For instance, the opening phrase "to complaint about a collection of garbage service" contains grammatical and lexical inaccuracies, and "in an appropriate way" is likely a misuse intended to mean inappropriately. Other phrases like "waste material collector large boxes" show unnatural word order. Despite these slips, communication is never impeded, and the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the intended message, aligning with Band 6.0 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including relative clauses ("in which people can store their overflow garbage") and conditional structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing. Examples include "garbage collector team do not pay attention" (subject-verb agreement), "trash spread unpleasant odor" (missing third-person singular 's'), and "an essential part for cleaning" (preposition error). Punctuation errors also appear, such as the space before the comma in "For solution ,". Although these errors occur regularly, they rarely impede overall communication, placing the grammar performance securely at Band 5.5.

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

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