Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-16
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 / Madam,
My name is Ishwer chand resident in [redacted phone] street surrey BC. The local authority is not working properly that area and not collecting the garbabe of my neighbours properly on the specific garbage collection day resuilt of lot garbage pile infront of my neighbours house and smell spread allmost everywhere around us its also effecting to our and children health .some time if they are coming to pick the gabage and not collecting all and throwing garbage infront of our street..
suggetion- I have a personal suggation to solve this problem like we have three bin to collect infront of our and my neighbour house they should given a specific day and time to collect the garbage and make sure they are collecting all and not leaving anything in the gabage bin . i will ask to my neighbour house to strickt and keep eye on that day of collection .
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The candidate has attempted all parts of the prompt, successfully covering the description of the faulty garbage collection, the impact on neighbours and health, and providing a suggestion for improvement. However, the development of these ideas is limited and somewhat superficial. For instance, stating 'smell spread allmost everywhere around us' outlines the issue, but lacks the deeper elaboration expected for higher bands. The tone is semi-formal, fitting the letter format, although opening with 'My name is Ishwer chand resident in...' is slightly unnatural for a council complaint. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, placing this response at Band 5.5, rounded to Band 6.0 due to covering all bullet points.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text suffers from a lack of standard paragraphing, written essentially as two large blocks of text with unconventional formatting, such as 'suggetion-'. Logical progression is hindered by run-on sentences that lack proper punctuation, such as '...specific garbage collection day resuilt of lot garbage pile infront of my neighbours house and smell spread allmost everywhere around us its also effecting to our and children health .some time if they are coming...'. Cohesive devices are minimal or misused, and referencing is often unclear. Although an overall progression is attempted from describing the problem to suggesting a solution, the weak mechanical cohesion and poor punctuation limit the score here to Band 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, frequently revolving around simple terms like 'garbage', 'house', 'neighbour', and 'collection'. There are numerous word choice and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'garbabe', 'resuilt', 'allmost', 'effecting' (instead of affecting), and 'strickt'. While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the basic situation to the reader, the persistent spelling and lexical errors prevent the score from rising higher. The lexical range is limited, satisfying the criteria for Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response features a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences strung together with conjunctions and comma splices rather than correct subordinate clauses. There is a complete absence of complex sentence control. Frequent errors in tense, preposition usage, and word forms are evident, such as 'resident in 7724' instead of 'residing at', and 'they should given' instead of 'they should be given'. These errors cause frequent difficulty for the reader and impede smooth comprehension. Grammatical accuracy is weak, aligning closely with Band 4.5, rounded to 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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