Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-02

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 6.0)

Dear sir

I am writing a letter to inform you that in my area the garbage collection is not working properly , which may cause a lot of problems.

In my area garbage collecting is not working in good way . whenever there is a day of collecting garbage from the streets and clean the all bins in society the cleaner is not coming on the time and if he come he never done properly which make a worse situation for people . sometime we talk to cleaner that council pay you salary on time but why you do not come on time to cleans this all rubbish. He make a lot of excuses.

This is affecting in very bad way . The garbage is not collecting properly which create a bad smell in street ,due to this bad smell children in the area never play and make a complaints. Apart from this , this rubbish give birth to mosquito which is major concern and cause a malaria to the human beings who lived there.

I suggest to local council please look at this issue and give warning to letter to the cleaner so, he will do his duty properly. If he never do this please change our cleaner as soon as possible , because cleaning is important for our area .

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

yours faithfully

vanisha

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 community, and provide a logical suggestion for improvement. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a council. However, the development of ideas is somewhat repetitive, particularly regarding the cleaner's performance. To reach a higher band, ensure that your arguments are more concisely expressed and that you avoid repeating the same points about the cleaner's excuses. Overall, the task is fully addressed, and the purpose of the letter is clear throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is logically organized into paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of the prompt. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'whenever', 'apart from this', and 'if'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the use of linking words could be more varied. For example, the transition between the description of the problem and the impact on the community could be smoother. Additionally, some referencing is slightly unclear, such as 'he' referring to the cleaner without a clear introduction of that specific individual earlier in the text. Improving the variety of cohesive devices would enhance the overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to communicate your message clearly, such as 'garbage collection', 'major concern', and 'malaria'. However, there are several instances of awkward phrasing and collocation errors, such as 'clean the all bins', 'give birth to mosquito', and 'give warning to letter'. These errors occasionally distract the reader, though they do not impede communication. To improve, focus on learning common collocations (e.g., 'collect the rubbish' rather than 'collecting garbage') and ensure you use articles and prepositions correctly. Expanding your vocabulary to include more precise, formal terms would also be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The letter contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'he come', 'he make'), article usage ('the cleaner', 'a malaria'), and tense consistency. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some missing spaces after commas and incorrect capitalization. While you attempt complex sentences, they often contain errors that affect the accuracy of the writing. Focusing on basic grammatical accuracy and proofreading for subject-verb agreement will help you achieve a higher score in this criterion.

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

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