Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-27

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 city council,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing this letter in terms of bringing your attention to our problem for rubbish/garbage collection which is not operated accurately.

In my area, Friday is the day to collect all the garbage from outside of all houses. However, it is a huge headache for my whole street in current senario that litter truck do not show up on the day and till next 3 or 4 days.

Moreover, because of rainy season, rubbish is expanded all over the street and mix up with each others or even during nights ragoons and other animals attack on garbage bags to eat something which results messed up everything.

I am just honestly requesting you please take any action to solve this problem or if possible please implement some strict rules for the workers and furthermore, if city does not have enough trucks or employees so you should hire more people and buy some garbage trucks which help to clean up the city on time.

Best regards,

Baldeep Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The letter covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly describe the failure of the collection system, explain the negative impact on the neighborhood, and provide suggestions for improvement. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a council. However, the development of ideas is somewhat basic. For instance, the suggestion to 'hire more people' is a bit simplistic. To reach a higher band, you could expand on the consequences of the health hazards caused by the rubbish or provide more specific details about the frequency of the missed collections to strengthen your argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of the task. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Moreover', and 'furthermore' to link your ideas. While the flow is generally clear, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally slightly awkward, such as in the phrase 'results messed up everything'. Improving the variety of your linking words and ensuring that your sentences flow more naturally into one another would help elevate the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to convey your message effectively. You use topic-specific terms like 'rubbish/garbage collection', 'litter truck', and 'health hazards' (implied). However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'operated accurately' instead of 'operating efficiently' and 'rubbish is expanded' instead of 'rubbish is scattered'. Additionally, 'ragoons' appears to be a misspelling or misuse of a term for scavengers. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and ensuring that your vocabulary choices are contextually appropriate for a formal complaint.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb tenses and prepositions, such as 'in terms of bringing your attention to our problem' (should be 'to bring your attention to the problem') and 'mix up with each others' (should be 'mix up with each other'). There are also issues with article usage and sentence construction, such as 'litter truck do not show up'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the score as they occur frequently throughout the text.

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

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