Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-10

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 5.5)

Dear Sir or Madam

I am writing to address and bring your attention to the littering problem on the sidewalk of riverbank. I am living in Calgary Downtown. There is Bow river near my home and I enjoy to go for a walk by the riverside everyday. I love to walk there because of the natural beauty of riverbank and peaceful environment over there.

Unfortunately, I am noticing that there is more and more litter left by the walkers. As I am living there for more than 5 years. The sidewalk was used to be clean. However, I have noticed some litter and I was cleaning the sidewalk for so many days. After that, it comes to my attention that this issue is keep growing and more litter is on the sidewalk.

I would like to bring your attention to this issue because you may make other people aware regarding littering in the nature. I would like to suggest that littering problem should be addressed strictly by local committee and make sure that there are enough garbage bins on the sidewalk for people.

I would appreciate if you could cover this issue in your newspaper.

Yours faithfully

Kiran

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three points: you explain that you enjoy the Bow River’s natural beauty and peaceful surroundings, describe the increasing litter, and suggest newspaper coverage, stricter action by the local committee, and more bins. The purpose is clear and the tone is appropriate for a letter to a newspaper. The description of the litter itself is less fully developed: you say there is “more litter” but do not give examples of what you have seen, such as bottles or food packaging. The proposed response is relevant, though “addressed strictly” could be made more specific by suggesting enforcement or public-awareness notices. Adding concrete examples would make the content more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall structure, moving from your reason for writing and enjoyment of the area to the problem and then to possible action. Paragraphing helps distinguish these stages, and linking words such as “Unfortunately” and “However” guide the reader. Some connections are less smooth: “As I am living there for more than 5 years” is left as a fragment, and “After that” does not clearly show how the cleaning relates to the growing problem. There is also some repetition of “I would like to bring your attention.” To improve progression, connect the five-year comparison directly to the change you have observed and vary the phrasing when introducing your request.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the topic and purpose, including “natural beauty,” “peaceful environment,” “littering problem,” and “garbage bins.” Some choices are imprecise or unnatural, however, such as “on the sidewalk of riverbank,” “littering in the nature,” and “addressed strictly.” The repeated use of “sidewalk” and “litter” also limits variety, while the response does not name specific kinds of rubbish. These issues do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, but more precise collocations and a few topic-specific terms would strengthen the letter. For example, describe the rubbish as plastic bottles or food wrappers and refer to the riverside path rather than the sidewalk.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and longer sentences, and the main message remains understandable. However, some errors in sentence structure and verb forms reduce accuracy. “I enjoy to go” should be “I enjoy going,” while “As I am living there for more than 5 years” needs a present-perfect form and should be joined to the following sentence. In “this issue is keep growing,” the verb pattern is incorrect; use “this issue keeps growing” or “this issue is continuing to grow.” There are also article and punctuation problems, including “the sidewalk of riverbank” and missing commas after the greeting and closing. Practising these patterns would make your varied sentences more controlled.

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

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