Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-29

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 6.5)

Dear Sir,

My name is Kevin Gajdhar, and I am a recident of Bampton. I am writing this letter to complain about a fault in the garbage collection system.

In my local area, the usual garbage collection time is 8:00 am on tuesday, but from last several weeks rubbish has not been picked up by allocated employees. Due to that, me and my neighbours have to face several problems. Litter has spread on the road as well as a foul odour has been spreading in our local area as a garabage collection system has not been working according to schedual. Having experienced a delayed in litter collection, I have been facing some health problems as well.

I would therefore be a grateful if you could take appropriate steps to address this issue as soon as possible by arranging a meeting with your employees or follow up on this matter by your own. Hoping for a careful consideration of this suggestions.

Yours faithfully,

Kevin

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The student covers all bullet points required by the prompt in a clear and appropriate manner for a General Training Task 1 letter. The writer successfully describes how the system is failing by stating that rubbish has not been picked up on Tuesdays as scheduled for the last several weeks. The impact on the neighbourhood is well-explained through details such as litter spreading on roads, foul odours, and the writer experiencing health problems. Finally, a clear suggestion is made to arrange a meeting with employees or follow up personally. The tone is appropriately formal and polite throughout, fully satisfying the communicative purpose of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter is logically organised with a clear beginning, middle, and end, following standard formal letter conventions. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, the main body describing the problem and impacts, and the concluding call to action. Cohesive devices such as 'Due to that,' 'as well as,' and 'I would therefore be' are employed to connect ideas, although some transitions like 'Due to that' feel slightly repetitive or slightly unidiomatic. Overall, the progression of ideas is easy to follow, and the relationship between sentences is clear.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a formal complaint letter, using terms such as 'garbage collection system,' 'foul odour,' 'appropriate steps,' and 'careful consideration.' However, there are a few spelling and word choice errors, such as 'recident' instead of 'resident,' 'tuesday' with a lower-case letter, and 'garabage' as a typo. Phrases like 'from last several weeks' and 'a grateful' also show minor inaccuracies. These errors do not impede communication, but they keep the lexical score within the mid-range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'I am writing this letter to complain about a fault in the garbage collection system' and 'Having experienced a delayed in litter collection, I have been facing some health problems as well.' There are some minor grammatical errors, including 'a delayed' instead of 'a delay,' missing articles, and an unnecessary article in 'a grateful.' Despite these occasional slips, the majority of sentences are grammatically sound, and punctuation is handled reasonably well throughout the letter.

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