Band 9.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 9.0 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-10

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You recently helped your company organise an event at a hotel. Write a letter to the hotel manager. In your letter:

– Provide details about the event
– Mention what you particularly liked about the hotel
– Suggest areas for improvement.

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:
Dear Sir / Madam,

Student answer (Band 9.0)

Dear Sir / Madam,

I am writing to thank you for the excellent services provided by your hotel when my company recently held an event there. I would also like to share some feedback that may help you maintain and further improve your services.

The event was a corporate training and networking session organized for approximately 120 employees. It was held in one of your conference rooms last Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The hotel staff arranged the seating, audio-visual equipment and refreshments, while lunch was served in the adjoining dining area.

What I particularly appreciated was the professionalism and attentiveness of your staff. They responded promptly to our requests and ensured that the event ran smoothly throughout the day. I was also impressed by the cleanliness of the venue, the quality of the food and the comfortable, well-equipped conference room. These features created a very pleasant and productive environment for our employees.

However, there are a few areas that could be improved. The Wi-Fi connection was somewhat unstable during the morning session, which caused brief interruptions to our presentations. In addition, the registration area was rather small, resulting in some congestion when guests arrived. Providing a stronger internet connection and allocating a larger space for registration would make further events even more successful.

Overall, we were pleased with our experience and would be pleased to consider your hotel for future corporate events. Thank you for your assistance and for making our occasion a success.

Yours faithfully,

Viral

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response9.0
Coherence and Cohesion9.0
Lexical Resource8.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy8.5
Overall9.0

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 9.0

The response fully addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly described the event, highlighted specific positive aspects of the hotel (staff professionalism and cleanliness), and provided constructive suggestions for improvement (Wi-Fi and registration space). The tone is consistently professional and appropriate for a formal letter to a manager. The ideas are well-developed and supported with relevant details, such as the number of employees and the specific timing of the event. The letter follows the required format and maintains a clear purpose throughout, demonstrating a strong grasp of the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 9.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task, starting with the purpose of the letter, moving to the event details and positive feedback, and concluding with constructive suggestions. Cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'However', and 'Overall' are used effectively to link sentences and paragraphs. The paragraphing is logical and contributes to the overall clarity of the message. The flow of information is smooth, and the relationship between ideas is easy to follow, meeting the criteria for a high band score.

Lexical Resource — Band 8.5

You demonstrate a wide and precise range of vocabulary appropriate for a formal business context. Phrases such as 'corporate training and networking session', 'responded promptly', 'well-equipped', and 'resulted in some congestion' show a sophisticated command of language. The word choices are accurate and natural, contributing to the professional tone of the letter. There are no noticeable errors in word choice or collocation, and the vocabulary is used with flexibility to convey specific meanings effectively. The language is varied and avoids repetition, which is excellent for this type of task.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 8.5

The response exhibits a high level of grammatical accuracy with a variety of complex sentence structures. You successfully use subordinate clauses and compound sentences to convey information clearly. For example, 'The hotel staff arranged the seating... while lunch was served in the adjoining dining area' demonstrates good control over sentence structure. Punctuation is used correctly throughout, and there are no significant grammatical errors that impede communication. The majority of sentences are error-free, and the control over tense and agreement is consistent. The writing is polished and demonstrates a strong command of English grammar.

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

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