Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-07-31

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 6.5)

Dear Sir,

I am writing to express my concern regarding the rubbish collection system. Which has not been working for the past few months.

Firstly, the garbage truck have been arriving irregularly and often missed the garbage.As a result our street bins remain full for weeks. Additionally, they scattered the garbage on the roads which create mess and pollute the whole area.

Secondly, the situation is causing serious problem related to health. The accumulated rubbish is attracting insects, bee’s and there is a foul smell throughout the street. Several families with young children, including my own, are worried about health issues. Furthermore, the garbage on the streets discouraged people’s to walk on road. There is a pathetic situation we have been facing in our society.

I would like to suggest a few measures related to this problem. They should need to visit our area routinely, and they should collect all the waste materials and clear the bins. Therefore, we will appreciate your contribution and discouraged the other people’s to throw their spare’s inside the bins. I hope the members of your council take action against them.Thank you soo much.

Yours faithfully,

XYZ

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task: describing the problem, explaining the impact, and suggesting solutions. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a council. However, the development of your ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, while you mention health issues, you could have elaborated more on the specific risks or the duration of the problem to make your argument more persuasive. The letter covers the requirements well enough to be considered fully addressed, but the depth of the content could be improved to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of the prompt. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'Furthermore' to guide the reader. However, the flow between some sentences is slightly mechanical, and there are instances where the connection between ideas could be smoother. For example, the transition between the health issues and the suggestion section is a bit abrupt. Overall, the message is easy to follow, and the paragraphing is appropriate for a formal letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly, such as 'accumulated', 'irregularly', and 'measures'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and incorrect pluralization, such as 'people’s' (should be 'people'), 'bee’s' (should be 'bees'), and 'spare’s' (should be 'spare items' or 'rubbish'). These errors do not impede communication, but they do indicate a need for more precise control over word forms and collocations to reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is good. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'garbage truck have been arriving', 'they scattered the garbage') and sentence fragments (e.g., 'Which has not been working...'). Additionally, there are punctuation errors, such as the unnecessary apostrophes in plural nouns. While these errors are noticeable, they rarely prevent the reader from understanding your meaning. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for subject-verb agreement would significantly improve your score.

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