Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-22

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 Local Council,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing an email to you about a rubbish collection problem on my street. I am living at 24 Argelia Street, Brampton, where the local council is not looking for a cleaning.

The System used to collect garbage in my area is not working properly. They never come on time. According to the rules, the collection should be twice a week, but they come twice a month. All the garbage bins smell bad, and we are suffering from health issues, for examples fever, cough becasue of mosquitoes. My neighbours are also worried about this area. Last evening, we decided to write an email to you about this problem.

I request you to please go through with this problem as soon as possible. Take strict action against those who are responsible for it. It will be inconvenient to reside there any longer if the problem is not solved on an early basis.

Thank you for understanding and waiting for your response.

Your's Faithfully

Manpreet Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response successfully covers all bullet points required by the task. The writer describes how the rubbish collection system is failing by stating 'they never come on time' and contrasting the intended twice-weekly schedule with the actual twice-monthly occurrence. The impact on the writer and neighbours is clearly explained, mentioning that bins smell bad and causing health issues such as 'fever, cough becasue of mosquitoes'. Finally, a suggestion is made to 'take strict action against those who are responsible'. While the opening salutation ('Dear Local Council') and sign-off contain slight formulaic inaccuracies, all core communication requirements are fully addressed, fitting the Band 6 descriptor well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph structure separating the greeting, description of the problem, impacts, and action requests. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition 'According to the rules' is a bit rigid, and referencing in phrases like 'go through with this problem' is slightly unnatural. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct points, such as moving from the scheduling failure to the health consequences and subsequent neighbor discussion. Overall organisation is adequate to achieve a Band 6 score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases like 'responsible for it' and 'reside there any longer'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'becasue' instead of because, and awkward phrasing like 'the local council is not looking for a cleaning' and 'go through with this problem'. Despite these lexical slips, the vocabulary remains sufficient to communicate the main points clearly, aligning with the criteria for Band 5.5 or a solid Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'It will be inconvenient to reside there any longer if the problem is not solved on an early basis.' There are several grammatical errors and awkward collocations, including 'I am writing an email to you' (rather than 'to you' after writing a letter), spelling errors ('becasue'), and punctuation/sign-off issues ('Your's Faithfully'). However, these errors do not impede overall communication. The mix of structures and general control place this at a Band 5.5.

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