Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-11-12

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The system used for rubbish/garbage collection in your local area is not working properly. This is causing problems for you and your neighbours. Write a letter to the local council. In your letter

• describe how the rubbish collection system is not working properly
• explain how this is affecting you and your neighbours
• suggest what should 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,

I am Raman and I am a resident of city Brampton. I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the garbage collection service in my city.

The garbage need to be assembled every week, however it is collected barely once in a month. This cause significant inconvience for all the people, as it becomes difficult for individuals to live due to unpleasant smell occur from uncollected trash. Additionally, many kids are sick due to this.

I would really appreciate it if you could take prompt action to resolve this issue. I would suggest that your persistent supervision is required to improve t

I look forward to receiving prompt action at your earliest convience.

Yours faithfully,

Raman

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the central problem—collections happen “barely once in a month” rather than weekly—and explain effects through unpleasant smells and children becoming sick. You also request prompt action and mention supervision. However, the response addresses the task only partially: the impact on neighbours is stated generally, and the proposed solution is incomplete, ending with “to improve t”. Explain practical steps, such as restoring a weekly schedule, providing extra collections, or monitoring missed pickups, and describe more specifically how residents are affected. The response is also 32 words below the required minimum, which leaves too little space to develop the three requested points. A fuller, specific request would make the purpose clearer and more persuasive.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable structure: an opening that states its purpose, a paragraph describing the collection problem and its effects, and a closing request. The sequence is generally easy to follow, and “Additionally” helps introduce a further consequence. However, the body is very brief, so the explanation and proposed action do not develop into a clear progression; the suggestion is cut off at “improve t”. The transition from describing the effects to requesting action is abrupt. Use a separate paragraph for the requested measures and connect it explicitly to the problem—for example, explain that weekly collections and regular monitoring would prevent the smell and health concerns. Check that the final draft is complete before submitting.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “garbage collection service”, “uncollected trash”, “unpleasant smell” and “prompt action”, so the main issue is understandable. There are also attempts at more formal language, such as “express my dissatisfaction” and “persistent supervision”. However, several word-choice, collocation and spelling problems reduce precision: “garbage need to be assembled” is not a natural way to describe collection, “inconvience” is misspelled, and “earliest convience” appears to confuse “convenience” with “convenience” in the intended phrase. Choose standard expressions such as “rubbish should be collected” and “at your earliest convenience”. More precise vocabulary for the council’s actions would also strengthen the request.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple sentences and a longer sentence with “however” and “as”, showing some range. The main message remains understandable, but errors in agreement and sentence construction are noticeable. For example, “The garbage need” should use a singular verb, and “This cause” should be “This causes”. In “due to unpleasant smell occur from uncollected trash”, the clause is not grammatically complete; write, for example, “because of the unpleasant smell from uncollected rubbish”. The final suggestion is also unfinished, which prevents the sentence from being assessed as a complete structure. Practise checking subject–verb agreement, articles, and complete clauses, while retaining a mix of short and complex sentences.

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