Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-28

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)

I am writing to bring your attention to an urgent matter regarding the collection community in area. The rubbish collection team's performance is gradually becoming disappointing. The crew comes and donot clearly clean the dustbins placed outside the homes. They just pickup the main bags and don't bother to wrap up the remaining garbage in and around the trash buckets.

This behaviour of the team is annoying for me and my neighbours as well. The improper cleaning of the rubbish causes germs and harmfull bacterias which causes allergy and infections to childern playing in the street. WHen the garbage remain there a dirty smell spreads all around, which makes it difficult to bear.

I request to the local council on the behalf of the area, kindly advice the muncipal committe members to do their job with resposibility and focus, and cleanup all the rubbish spread outside the baskets so the problems, currenlty facing by the society must b avoided.

Your intervention in implementing this would be appreciated greatly.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response successfully covers all three bullet points required in the prompt. First, the writer describes how the rubbish collection is failing by explaining that workers do not clean the dustbins properly and leave garbage scattered around ('They just pickup the main bags and don't bother to wrap up the remaining garbage'). Second, the effect on neighbours and children is clearly explained, highlighting germs, bacteria, and unpleasant smells. Finally, a clear suggestion is made for the local council to advise the municipal committee members to act responsibly. Although there are some minor awkward expressions, the purpose of the letter is entirely clear and all parts of the task are well addressed, placing this comfortably in the band 6.0 to 6.5 range.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter is organised into logical paragraphs, starting with an appropriate formal salutation, followed by body paragraphs addressing the problem, its impacts, and solutions, and concluding nicely. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'This behaviour', 'WHen the garbage remain there', and 'I request'. However, some paragraph transitions and referencing are a little mechanical, and there are mechanical punctuation issues (such as capitalisation in 'WHen'). The overall arrangement is coherent and the progression of ideas is easy to follow, making this a solid performance for coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, successfully communicating everyday issues related to rubbish collection using terms like 'dustbins', 'garbage', 'germs', and 'municipal committee'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('donot', 'harmfull', 'bacterias', 'childern', 'currenlty', 'muncipal', 'resposibility') and occasional awkward collocations ('collection community'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede overall communication. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary such as 'intervention', which shows an effort to expand lexical range beyond the absolute basics.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'When the garbage remain there a dirty smell spreads all around, which makes it difficult to bear.' There are several grammatical errors present, including subject-verb agreement issues ('the crew comes and donot', 'the garbage remain') and missing articles or prepositions ('in area', 'on the behalf of the area'). Punctuation is also faulty in places, such as double spaces and capitalisation errors. Despite these frequent errors, the meaning remains generally clear and communication is rarely impeded, which aligns well with the band 5.5 criteria.

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

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