Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-26

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 express my concern regarding the current waste collection system in my area.

The most important issue is the frequency of rubbish collection. Currently, the waste collection happens biweekly in our area. As a result, my neighborhood are facing the dispose problems of excess waste.

In addition, the garbage bins are too small for collect the waste of two weeks. These creates a major health related issue due to excess waste. For instance, everyone try to throw their garbage around the bin, which creates the nuisance of flies and mosquitoes surrounding.

I would suggest the local council that, improve the current frequency of waste collection to weekly instead of biweekly. Also, they should introduced a new large garbage bin and deliver to households as soon as possible. It would be helpful to mitigate health related risks.

I appreciate for considering my requests. Thanks in advance.

Kind regards,

John

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The letter successfully covers all three bullet points required by the task. First, the student describes the rubbish collection issue, noting that collections currently happen biweekly rather than frequently enough. Second, the impact on residents is clearly explained, highlighting waste disposal problems, overflowing bins, and the resulting nuisance of flies and mosquitoes. Finally, practical suggestions are provided to the local council, proposing a shift to weekly collections and the delivery of larger garbage bins. The purpose of the letter is clear and maintained throughout, and the tone is appropriate for a formal complaint to a local council. Although the vocabulary and grammar contain some errors, all parts of the prompt are fully addressed with relevant and extended ideas, earning a solid band score for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter is logically organised with a clear beginning, middle, and end, following a standard formal letter structure. The ideas are grouped into logical paragraphs, with each paragraph addressing a specific aspect of the prompt, such as the problem, its impact, and the proposed solutions. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as 'Currently', 'In addition', and 'For instance'. However, some cohesive referencing is slightly unnatural or mechanical, as seen in phrases like 'These creates a major health related issue'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately to guide the reader through the letter. Overall, the organisation is coherent, but minor faults in cohesion prevent it from reaching a higher band score.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating ideas about waste management and community health issues. Words and phrases like 'express my concern', 'biweekly', 'nuisance', and 'mitigate' show an attempt to use less common lexical items. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors throughout the response, such as 'the dispose problems' instead of 'disposal problems', 'too small for collect' instead of 'too small to collect', and 'they should introduced' instead of 'they should introduce'. While these errors do not impede communication, they reflect a lack of precision that keeps the lexical score at a moderate level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses and modal verbs, such as 'I am writing to express...' and 'It would be helpful to mitigate...'. However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward structures throughout the text. For example, subject-verb agreement is incorrect in 'my neighborhood are facing', and verb forms are misused in 'are too small for collect' and 'everyone try to throw'. Punctuation and simple structures are generally managed well, but errors in complex structures and verb tenses occur frequently enough to cause occasional difficulty for the reader, fitting the profile of a band 5.5 performance.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.