Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)
In my street corner garbage and lot of plastic bottle and enveplo is combined this cuases my younger brother is very ill and my fmily is very worried about my brother health no now i face a lot of problems but my neighbours facese same problem two month ago safe health officers visit around this area but work is not start they are involve in more problems last two month garbage is collect on the street corner there is a winter session some day rain is very fast with cloud brast they garbage affected anyone person includ younger boy girl old people children this is very dangraus lot of people is very poor in financial in this fmily person is ill they get no treatment so please send to worker to clean my street so they people are live clean life and can never touch the deases this garbage involve the people in dangi fever thid fide so make sure you send your worker to clean the street thank you
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response covers all three bullet points required by the task. You described the problem by stating that garbage and plastic bottles have accumulated on your street corner. You explained the effects on you and your neighbours by mentioning that your brother fell ill, health officers visited two months ago without taking action, and winter weather such as heavy rain and cloud bursts make the situation dangerous, risking diseases like dengue and typhoid. Finally, you suggested that the council should send workers to clean the street. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive, and the purpose of the letter is somewhat obscured by dense, unpunctuated sentences. This performance aligns with Band 5, as the task is addressed, but the ideas lack clear structuring and full extension.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0
The text is written as a single continuous block of text without paragraph breaks, which violates standard letter-writing conventions and makes it very difficult to follow the progression of ideas. There is a lack of cohesive devices; sentences run into one another using commas or no punctuation at all, rather than logical connectors or conjunctions. For instance, phrases like 'this cuases my younger brother is very ill and my fmily is very worried' demonstrate faulty referencing and run-on structures. Although there is a general sequence covering the problem, effects, and solution, the absence of clear paragraphing and cohesive control places this response firmly at Band 4.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 4.0
The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, with frequent spelling errors such as 'enveplo' instead of envelope, 'fmily' for family, 'dangraus' for dangerous, 'deases' for disease, and 'dangi' for dengue. While the writer attempts to introduce topical vocabulary such as 'health officers', 'garbage collection', and disease names like 'tweed' (likely typhoid), the persistent spelling and word-choice inaccuracies ('is collect on the street corner' instead of 'has been collected') noticeably impede communication and strain the reader. This meets the criteria for Band 4.0, where vocabulary is basic and errors frequently occur.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0
Grammatically, the response relies on simple or severely flawed run-on structures. There is a complete absence of standard punctuation, capitalisation, and sentence boundaries; the entire text reads as one long sentence joined by commas. Frequent errors include missing auxiliary verbs ('work is not start', 'garbage is collect'), tense inconsistencies, and incorrect verb forms ('they people are live clean life'). Complex structures are attempted incorrectly, and basic grammar rules are frequently broken. These persistent and dense errors result in a band score of 4.0, as errors are very frequent and constantly obscure the intended meaning.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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