Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-14

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,

Good morning, how are you?

Well, I am planning to write this letter from so long, but i always drop this idea to write; however, recently ,I read one of the article from your newspaper which ask the local people to tell the newspaper agency about the problems occuring in their locality. I was waiting for this opporunity from so long and; finally I planned to write about my major concern regarding litter left by other walkers in the surrounding.

I am Subhash living in Cornerstone Avenue, which is recenlty developed area in Calgary, it have a very beautiful lake with a trail for walk. I always go there for walk and enjoy doing walk there as i feel peaceful after a stressful day but recently, I can see a lot of litter in that walking trail as there are large number of soda cans lying on the land, and many plastic bags are floating in the lake. All this looks very ugly and destroying the beauty of the place and it smells so bad.

After thinking about it a lot, I came up with a plan that there should be a weekly volunteer activity in which people from this locality should come together to clean the area around the lake so that it should look beautiful and also free of foul smell. This will not only help the locality but also provide help to the animal and birds living nearby.

Looking for immediate action!

Yours truly,

Subhash

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three points: you explain that walking by the lake and its trail helps you feel peaceful, describe cans and plastic bags, and propose a weekly community clean-up. The concern is clear and relevant throughout. The description of the litter is specific, but the reasons you enjoy walking and the proposed response could be developed further—for example, explain what makes the trail especially appealing or how volunteers could organise the clean-up. The letter also needs a more suitable opening and closing for a local newspaper: “Good morning, how are you?” is conversational, while “Looking for immediate action!” is abrupt and does not clearly invite the newspaper or readers to respond. These uneven levels of development and the less appropriate letter conventions limit the effectiveness of the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable progression: an introduction to the concern, a paragraph describing the location and litter, and a final paragraph proposing action. This makes the main message easy to follow overall. However, the opening paragraph is long and contains several ideas—your reason for writing, the newspaper article, and the concern—without clear separation. Linking words such as “however,” “recently,” and “after thinking about it” help connect points, but some transitions feel mechanical, and the semicolon in “and; finally” interrupts the flow. Consider using shorter paragraphs and clearer topic sentences, then connect the problem directly to the proposed solution. This would make the organisation more controlled and the relationships between ideas clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the setting and problem, including “walking trail,” “soda cans,” “floating in the lake,” and “foul smell.” These details make the issue understandable, and “peaceful” conveys a personal reason for walking. However, several phrases are repetitive or imprecise, such as “go there for walk,” “enjoy doing walk,” and “from so long.” There are also spelling errors, including “opporunity,” “recenlty,” and “occuring,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for more natural collocations and a wider range of precise terms for the litter and its effects. For example, describe the cans as “discarded” and explain that the rubbish “spoils the scenery.” Proofreading would also help ensure that your vocabulary is presented accurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a sentence beginning “After thinking about it a lot” and a longer sentence linking the lake, trail, and your feelings. The main ideas remain understandable, but grammatical control is inconsistent. Examples include “it have a very beautiful lake,” where the subject and verb do not agree, and “I am planning to write this letter from so long,” where the tense and time expression do not fit together. Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention, as in “one of the article” and the long sentence beginning “I always go there.” Practise accurate subject–verb agreement, article use, and tense patterns, and divide long sentences where needed. This will make your varied sentence attempts clearer and more reliable.

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