Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-03

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 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing in regard to the litter on the pedestrian walks near Hillside locality in Manchester. I usually go for my evening walks after finishing my work. However, lately I have been observing that people leave litter on the path while having their walks.

I enjoy my evening walks because it makes my mind calm after a hectic work day and the nature helps me feel better mentally. The whole path is full of different variety of green trees and beautiful flowers, which creates an amazing atmosphere to walk around.

However, people have been throwing garbage sometimes after eating or packets of waffers which makes it dirty. I would request you to urge people to throw litter in dedicated bins and not on the path.

Yours faithfully,

Jamie

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The letter addresses all three points: you explain that evening walks help you relax, describe the green trees and flowers, mention food-related rubbish, and ask the newspaper to encourage people to use bins. The purpose and tone are appropriate for a letter to the editor. However, the litter description and proposed response are brief, while the reasons for enjoying the walk receive more detail; the suggestion also focuses only on urging walkers, without explaining how this could be done. The response is 17 words below the required minimum, so it has limited space to develop these ideas. Add specific examples of rubbish and practical measures, such as more bins or signs, to make the coverage fuller.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The information is arranged in a clear sequence: you introduce the concern, explain your enjoyment of the walks, and then describe the litter and suggest a response. Paragraphing helps distinguish these functions, and linking words such as “However” make the shift to the problem easy to follow. This coherent overall organisation is a strength. Some connections could be smoother: the first paragraph introduces the litter before the next paragraph explains why the route matters, and the final paragraph combines the description and request very briefly. A more deliberate progression—from the value of the route, to specific examples of litter, to practical solutions—would make the letter feel more fully developed and cohesive.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “hectic work day,” “dedicated bins,” and “amazing atmosphere.” These choices communicate your meaning clearly, and the reader can understand the concern throughout. There are some inaccurate or less natural choices, however: “pedestrian walks” is not the usual phrase for countryside routes, “different variety” is redundant, and “waffers” is misspelled. “Garbage” is understandable, though “litter” would be more consistent with the task and the rest of the letter. Aim for precise, natural collocations and check spelling; this will make your description more fluent and convincing without requiring unusually advanced vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The letter includes a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, and most sentences are easy to understand. For example, “I usually go for my evening walks after finishing my work” uses a clear time phrase, while the sentence beginning “because” gives a reason. Some grammatical errors remain. In “it makes my mind calm,” the pronoun “it” refers to plural “walks,” so the verb should agree; “the nature helps” also uses an unnecessary article. In “different variety … which creates,” the structure creates an agreement problem, and “after a hectic work day” needs an article. Review agreement, articles, and sentence construction while retaining the clear sentence patterns already used.

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

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