Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 or Madam,

I am writing to report a problem about the system who collect garbage is not working properly in our area.

The rubbish collection system is not working on time. They came on different time of the week for collect the waste and resulted in garbage bags are stay outside of the house for a long time. In addition, sometimes they forgot to collect recyclable items such as plastics and paper.

These problem has affecting me and my neighbours in many ways. The food waste have been left behind for many days and that give invitation to mosquitos to lay their eggs in that waste and increases in their population. Thus, this create diseases among the local people like viral flu and fever.

To tackle this problem I would like to give suggestion on this matter. Firstly, make a weekly timetable, when garbage should be collected in which area and on what time. Apart from that select any mamber who supervise all this operations and follow up on daily basis.

I hope this suggestions would be benefit for the council and local people. I look forward to seeing this matter to be solved as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully,

Axay Nayi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response successfully covers all the required bullet points of the prompt. The writer describes how the rubbish collection system is failing by stating that collectors arrive at inconsistent times and occasionally forget recyclable items. The impact on the neighbourhood is clearly explained, highlighting how leaving food waste behind attracts mosquitoes and causes health issues like viral flu and fever. Finally, practical suggestions are offered, including a structured weekly timetable and assigning a supervisor. The tone of the letter is consistently appropriate for communicating with a local council, opening with the required 'Dear Sir or Madam,' and closing formally. All parts of the task are well-developed and easy to follow, earning a solid band score for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is generally clear and easy to follow, with a logical organisation that addresses each prompt requirement in separate paragraphs. The introduction states the purpose, body paragraphs address the issues and their consequences, and the conclusion offers solutions. However, cohesion at the sentence level is occasionally faulty. For example, transition phrases like 'These problem has affecting' show mechanical and awkward linking. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas, but referencing and cohesive devices could be managed with greater flexibility to achieve a higher score. Overall, the structural progression is clear enough to ensure smooth communication of the writer's message.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying the intended meaning regarding garbage collection, environmental issues, and council suggestions. The student attempts some less common terms and descriptive phrases such as 'recyclable items', 'food waste', and 'weekly timetable'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'system who collect garbage' instead of 'garbage collection system', 'give invitation to mosquitos' instead of 'attracts mosquitoes', and 'mamber' which is a spelling error. While these minor inaccuracies do not impede communication, they reflect a limited and developing lexical range, restricting the score to a band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures like conditional and modal clauses ('To tackle this problem I would like to give suggestion...'). However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent throughout the text. There are several noticeable errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('These problem has affecting' and 'The food waste have been left'), preposition errors ('for collect' instead of 'to collect'), and article usage slips ('on different time' instead of 'at different times'). While the writer makes an effort to use a variety of structures, these frequent non-systematic errors cause occasional difficulty for the reader and prevent the grammar score from reaching a higher band.

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

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