Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-30

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/Madam,

I am writing this letter regarding the garbage collection in my colony. Workers of municipality is not doing their work properly. Instead of picking waste from street on daily basis, they do it once or twice a week. They even does not clean the street clearly. when any dog or cat type animal dies on street, They take five to six hours to clear it after complaint raised by people.

Additionally, it is affecting the us and society in many ways. As smell the waste cause breathing issues to individuals majorly children and older people. It is creating bad image of society due to this our society came at number nine out of ten in hygiene and cleanliness. It spread several diseases to children and residents . who used to go on walk or play in colony.

However, I want to suggest that the leader of municiplaity should do meetings with their sanitor workers and ask the report from them about waste collection . They can introduce an mobile app for people to raise a complaint about garbage collection or other municiplaty issues . moreover, Leader should do two three visits and check the hygiene of the colony.

Yours Sincerly,

Ravi Ravi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

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 ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, while you mention health issues, the explanation is brief. To reach a higher band, ensure that your suggestions are more detailed and clearly linked to the specific problems mentioned. The structure is logical, and the purpose of the letter is clear from the beginning, which satisfies the requirements for a formal complaint letter.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organised into clear paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of the prompt. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Additionally', 'However', and 'moreover' to link your ideas. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and there are instances where referencing is unclear, such as 'it is affecting the us'. The transition between the problem description and the suggestions could be smoother. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that pronouns clearly refer to their antecedents will help improve the overall flow and coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to communicate your message effectively, such as 'municipality', 'hygiene', and 'complaint'. However, there are several spelling errors ('municiplaity', 'sanitor', 'Sincerly') and some awkward word choices, such as 'dog or cat type animal' and 'do it once or twice'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the precision of your writing. To improve, focus on learning the correct spelling of common administrative terms and using more natural collocations when describing everyday situations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('Workers of municipality is', 'They even does not clean') and article usage errors ('on street', 'on daily basis'). While the meaning remains clear, these persistent errors indicate a lack of control over basic grammatical rules. To achieve a higher score, focus on subject-verb agreement, correct article usage, and proofreading for minor slips in tense and pluralisation.

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

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