Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-25

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 7.5)

Dear Sir,

I am writing to express my concern about the maintenance of the countryside area near my place. The situation is deteriorating day by day.

I have been living near Burlington Lakeshore for the past 2 years. I am used to taking a walk there with my family every evening. I find it a little escape from our hectic schedule, and fresh air helps me feel relaxed and refreshed. Moreover, the design of this place makes it feel less crowded even though it is full of people in the evening.

Unfortunately, the area is becoming unhygienic because trash is scattered everywhere. People are discarding items like plastic cups, paper wrappers and other food-related waste here and there. It is affecting the overall beauty and pleasantness of the place.

I would like to request that more bins be installed, and it might be better to label them as wet and dry waste. Also, I believe fines should be imposed if anyone is seen littering garbage instead of using bins. I hope these suggestions will be useful to solve the issue. I hope you will take prompt action on immediate basis.

I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Yasmeen.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response7.5
Coherence and Cohesion7.5
Lexical Resource7.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy7.0
Overall7.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The letter addresses all three points clearly and maintains a suitable, concerned purpose for writing to a newspaper. You explain why you walk at Burlington Lakeshore, describing the evening walks with your family and the relaxing effect of the fresh air. The litter is illustrated with specific examples—“plastic cups, paper wrappers and other food-related waste”—and your proposals of adding labelled bins and imposing fines are relevant and practical. These ideas are supported with some explanation, such as the effect on the area's appearance. To develop the response further, explain how the newspaper or local community could help put the proposals into practice, rather than relying mainly on general requests. The content is clear and relevant throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5

The information follows a clear progression: you introduce your concern, describe your connection to the area, explain the litter problem, and then offer solutions. Paragraphing supports this sequence, and linking expressions such as “Unfortunately,” “Moreover,” and “Also” help show how the ideas relate. The letter also has an appropriate opening and closing. Some connections are slightly repetitive: “I hope these suggestions will be useful” is followed by another sentence beginning “I hope,” and the final request for prompt action could be linked more smoothly to the proposed measures. For a more polished flow, combine or vary these closing statements and use references such as “this problem” to avoid repeating the issue in similar terms.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.0

You use a sufficient range of vocabulary to describe both the setting and the problem, including “hectic schedule,” “scattered everywhere,” “overall beauty,” and “imposed.” The examples of rubbish are specific, and the tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter. There are occasional awkward or imprecise collocations, however. “Maintenance of the countryside area” is less natural for a complaint about litter, while “littering garbage” and “on immediate basis” do not sound idiomatic. “Unhygienic” communicates your concern, but a more precise description could distinguish cleanliness from the area's visual appeal. Aim to choose natural combinations of words and avoid repeating broad terms such as “area” and “place”; this would make the vocabulary more flexible and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

The letter includes a useful mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, and many sentences are accurate, such as “I have been living near Burlington Lakeshore for the past 2 years” and “Moreover, the design of this place makes it feel less crowded even though it is full of people in the evening.” Your use of clauses with “because” and “even though” shows some range. A few grammatical and punctuation issues remain. In “I hope you will take prompt action on immediate basis,” the article “an” is needed before “immediate basis”; the phrase itself also needs more natural wording. There is an extra space after “Also,” and the sign-off name would not normally take a full stop. Review articles and punctuation in formal writing while continuing to use varied sentence structures.

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

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