Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-16

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 or Madam,

I hope you are doing well.

I am writing this letter to complain that the garbage collection system in my vicinity is not working appropriately, which causes issue to me and my neighboursa

To begin with, the garbage collection team has not collected our trash for the last few weeks, and they are very imperfect on their schedule. In fact, the trash is not being taken away from last weeks.

Due to this issue, the surrounding are become very dirty, and the air has started getting smelly. This causes various health problems like plague, malaria, and many harmful diseases. In addition, become difficult to get outside through doors.

I kindly request that you, on behalf of my community, please look into this matter and take immediate action to remove this trash as soon as possible.

Thank you for understanding our situation.

Kind regards,

Harshil Trivedi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task: describing the problem, explaining the impact, and suggesting a solution. However, the response is slightly under the 150-word minimum, which is a negative factor. The ideas are relevant but could be developed further to provide a more professional tone. For instance, instead of listing 'plague' and 'malaria' as immediate consequences, you could focus on the more realistic issues of hygiene, pests, and unpleasant odors. Because the response is just under the length requirement, it does not fully satisfy the task instructions, resulting in a lower score for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. You use basic cohesive devices like 'To begin with' and 'In addition' to connect your ideas. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat mechanical. The paragraphing is acceptable, but the transition between the problem description and the impact could be smoother. Referencing is generally clear, but the overall flow is slightly hindered by the brevity of the sentences and the lack of more sophisticated linking words to connect the consequences of the uncollected trash to the requested action.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety expected at higher bands. You use some repetitive phrasing, such as 'garbage collection' and 'trash'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'very imperfect on their schedule' and 'surrounding are become very dirty'. To improve, you should aim for more natural word choices, such as 'inconsistent collection schedule' or 'unsanitary conditions'. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning, but it does not demonstrate a wide range of less common lexical items.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. For example, 'the surrounding are become very dirty' is grammatically incorrect, and 'the trash is not being taken away from last weeks' should be 'has not been taken away for the last few weeks'. Additionally, 'become difficult to get outside' lacks a subject. While your meaning is generally clear, these persistent errors in verb tense and sentence construction prevent the writing from reaching a higher band score.

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

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