Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-28

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 6.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I have been living in Scottsdale since my childhood, and i have never faced issued with the garbage collection system. Unfortunately, from past few days there has been something wrong with the system.

In our neighborhood, the garbage collection day is on every Tuesday and Friday. From last few weeks, it doesn't seems like the collection trucks are coming. The trash bins are sitting outside in the lawn area from past weeks. The bins are piling up more as, we thought they are going to come for collecting them.

As the bins are piling up and moreover, due to the rain last night the community is smelling bad. Everything has water in it, due to which the air in surrounding area has capture the smell. Everyone has been wearing a mask while leaving the home. The children are not bale to play outside on the streets as well.

I would like to request the council, to take the action as soon as possible by asking the collection system to pick up the trash by the end of the day. I am looking forward for the soonest action possible from the council.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You address all three points in the prompt: you explain that the scheduled Tuesday and Friday collections have been missed, describe the smell and the effect on children and residents, and ask the council to arrange a collection. The request is clear and the letter remains focused on the problem. To make the response more fully developed, give a little more specific evidence about how long collections have been missed or how many households are affected, and make the proposed remedy more practical—for example, request an urgent collection and a review of the regular service. The main ideas are relevant and supported, though some details, such as the effect on neighbours, are expressed generally rather than with specific examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall sequence: background, description of missed collections, consequences, and a request for action. Paragraphing helps the reader follow these stages, and links such as “Unfortunately” and “As” show relationships between ideas. This gives the response a coherent structure. However, some connections are repetitive or awkward, particularly “As the bins are piling up and moreover,” and the repeated references to bins piling up could be combined more smoothly. The final request also moves quickly from the problem to a deadline. Use a wider range of natural transitions and clearer referencing, and make the progression between the cause, effects, and proposed solution more seamless.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “garbage collection system,” “collection trucks,” “trash bins,” and “community,” so the situation is understandable. There are also attempts to describe consequences, such as “the air in surrounding area has capture the smell.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, including “faced issued,” “piling up more,” and “take the action.” Spelling errors such as “bale” also reduce accuracy. These issues make the vocabulary feel limited and sometimes require the reader to interpret your meaning. Build a bank of natural phrases for complaints and environmental effects, and check spelling and collocations when editing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including the explanation beginning “As the bins are piling up” and the request beginning “I would like to request.” The overall meaning is generally recoverable, but errors occur across verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “it doesn't seems like” should use the base verb after “doesn't,” while “the air in surrounding area has capture” has problems with the article and verb form. “From past few days” and “from past weeks” also show difficulty with article and preposition patterns. Some sentences are awkwardly joined, which affects punctuation and clarity. Practise accurate basic patterns first, then extend them with subordinate clauses and review each sentence for verb agreement and tense.

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.