Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-11

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 5.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

Hi, I hope you are doing well.This letter is to bring to your notice about the accumulation of litters left by the walkers in the my country home. My home is situated in a beautiful country side of xyz which also has a scenic park with a lake view. The park has a well organized pavements that enables people to enjoy walking.In the recent times, the number of walkers who use this park for their dog walks or recreational activities have genuinely increased.As a result, the litters have also increased. I have been a part of the community for more than 20 years and regularly take my morning walks with my dog at that park.I like to start my day in a clean environment, but in the recent times the litters made by the walkers have increased.There are litters of used coffee cups,plates,plastic bags, glass bottles and etc. lieing on the pavements. These litters are a very disturbing sight to see, therefore I would like to bring to your notice about them.According to me, placing trash cans at regular intervals along with sign boards can help people to dispose their trash effectively. Additionally, placing posters and spreading awareness to stop littering can improve their civic responsibilities. I kindly request you to consider this issue and make an effective measure to bring this to the public notice and effectively help to solve this issue.

Regards,

xxxx

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three points: you explain that you enjoy morning walks with your dog in the park near your home, describe items such as cups, plates, bags and bottles, and suggest bins, signs and awareness campaigns. The letter’s purpose is clear and the suggestions are relevant. However, some points are less fully developed than others. The reasons you enjoy walking are mainly that the park is scenic and you value a clean start to the day; a little more detail about the countryside or the benefits of walking would strengthen this part. The proposed measures are also listed rather than explained—for example, you could say how signs or bins might change walkers’ behaviour. The response is appropriately framed as a letter to the newspaper.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The information follows a generally sensible order: you introduce the problem, describe the park and your walking routine, give examples of litter, and then propose solutions. This makes the letter understandable overall. However, it is presented as one long paragraph, so the shifts between your enjoyment of the area, the litter problem and your recommendations are not clearly signposted. Some linking is also repetitive or mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “in the recent times” and “Additionally.” The opening moves from a greeting to the purpose, but the transition into the background could be smoother. Divide the letter into short paragraphs by function and use clearer references, such as “This increase in litter…” to connect the problem to its effects.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for the topic, including “scenic,” “recreational activities,” “pavements,” “dispose” and “awareness.” The examples of rubbish make the issue concrete, and the meaning is generally clear. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, which limits precision: “accumulation of litters,” “in the my country home,” “trash effectively” and “bring this to your notice about them” do not sound natural in this context. There are also spelling and form errors, such as “lieing,” and “litter” is generally uncountable, so it should not be pluralised. Aim for more natural combinations such as “litter left by walkers,” “near my home” and “dispose of their rubbish.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “a scenic park with a lake view” and a result link in “As a result, the litters have also increased.” The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “in the my country home” has an incorrect determiner, and “The park has a well organized pavements that enables” contains problems with article use and subject–verb agreement. In “There are … glass bottles and etc. lieing on the pavements,” the sentence structure is incomplete, while several sentences run together without appropriate spacing or punctuation. Review articles, agreement, sentence boundaries and punctuation, and proofread longer sentences to ensure each has a clear grammatical structure.

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