Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-19

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 or Madam,

My name is Alice Brown. I am the secretary of Gogo District Area of Abuja in Doromi Local Council to which you are the Chairman.

The purpose of this letter is to bring to your attention, inproper rubbish collection system in our area.

The way and manner rubbish collection is handled in Gogo area is inproper and unhygenic. This is affecting the general wellbeing of the residents of the area. For example, the truck that comes for the pick up of the rubbish in the past years were coming on weekly basis. Recently, they have changed the pick up time to once a month. This is too poor for an area of about five hundred residents. And when they do come, they have the rubbishes littered all over the place.

This system is affecting all the residents in the area. Presently, there is chloera outbreak in the neighbourhood which has been attributed to the poor hygene of the area. Simply put, the rubbish collection system is causing health issues in our area.

In other to create a healthy environment for the residents, I suggest that the rubbish collection time be moved back to weekly and the rubbish collectors should endeavour to collect all rubbishes when they come rather than scattering it all over the environment.

Yours faithfully

Alice Brown.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The letter addresses all three required points and maintains a clear, appropriate purpose: you describe collections changing from weekly to monthly, explain the health impact, and recommend restoring weekly service and ensuring rubbish is fully collected. The specific detail about roughly five hundred residents helps show why the reduced frequency is unsuitable, while the reported cholera outbreak makes the consequences clear. These ideas are relevant and supported, although the effect on neighbours is mostly presented as a general health concern rather than illustrated with further detail. The request would also be stronger if you stated explicitly what action you want the council to take and asked for a response or investigation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter has a clear progression: it introduces the complaint, describes the collection problem, explains its effects, and ends with proposed solutions. Paragraphing supports this sequence, and links such as “For example,” “Recently,” and “In other to” help connect ideas. The purpose is easy to follow throughout. Some transitions are less smooth: “And when they do come” begins a sentence with a basic connector, and “Simply put” repeats the health-impact point rather than advancing it. The opening identification and council reference are also somewhat cumbersome. More concise transitions and clearer links between the outbreak and the collection failures would make the organisation feel more controlled.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use vocabulary relevant to a formal complaint, including “collection system,” “residents,” “outbreak,” and “health issues,” and the reader can understand the central problem. However, several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, including “inproper,” “unhygenic,” “chloera,” and “hygene.” Some expressions are also unnatural or repetitive: “the way and manner” duplicates meaning, “too poor” is vague, and “all rubbishes” is not a natural plural form. Aim for accurate, conventional collocations and check spelling carefully. For example, “collection frequency,” “unsanitary conditions,” and “waste left scattered” would express the complaint more precisely and professionally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response includes both short statements and longer sentences with subordinate clauses, such as “This is too poor for an area of about five hundred residents.” and “I suggest that the rubbish collection time be moved back to weekly…” This gives some variety, and the main message remains understandable. However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction are frequent enough to limit accuracy. For instance, “the truck … were coming” has a singular subject with a plural verb, while “in the past years” and “on weekly basis” need more accurate grammatical forms. The sentence beginning “The purpose of this letter…” also lacks a clear article before the problem being raised. Practise checking agreement and article use, and revise long sentences for complete, well-formed clauses.

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