Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-19

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 6.5)

Dear Sir,

I hope you are in good health and well-being. I am writing this letter to express my heart-felt gratitude towards the event that took place at your hotel by our company, last weekend. It was an appreciation ceremony to celebrate success of the junior residents from the maxillofacial team, who aced their exams with exceptional grades.

Overall, my team and I really loved the traditional cuisines served by your staff. It comprised of Karahi and Biryani, along with desserts including Gulab jaman and Ras malai. Not only that, the hotel atmosphere was cool and pleasant, which made it a memorable spot to spend quality time with colleagues.

However, I wanted to bring to your attention the service protocol that did not meet our expectations. We advised your staff to serve the food in advance before we reach, but they served it about an hour later. I expect that you look into this issue, as customers often expect efficient service from the staff members.

Looking forward to your positive response.

Yours sincerely,

Afreen Baloch

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all bullet points required by the prompt. You provided clear details about the event, stating that it was an appreciation ceremony for maxillofacial junior residents who aced their exams. You mentioned what you liked about the hotel, specifically highlighting the traditional cuisines such as Karahi and Biryani, as well as the cool and pleasant atmosphere. Furthermore, you suggested areas for improvement by addressing the delayed service protocol regarding the food timing. The tone is consistently appropriate for a formal letter to a manager. The requirements of the task are fully met with relevant ideas well developed, aligning well with a Band 7.0 performance descriptor.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter exhibits a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, beginning with the purpose of the letter, moving on to the positive aspects of the event, transitioning to the critique of the service, and concluding with a polite sign-off. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall,' and 'Not only that,' are used appropriately to guide the reader. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and effectively, ensuring that the structure supports the communicative purpose of the text. Referencing is clear, and the overall arrangement reflects the competencies expected at Band 7.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is sufficient for the task and allows for adequate precision. You successfully incorporated less common lexical items such as 'appreciation ceremony', 'maxillofacial team', and 'service protocol'. There are minor stylistic slips, such as 'heart-felt gratitude towards the event' (gratitude is usually expressed for or about an event rather than towards it) and 'traditional cuisines' (cuisine is often used as an uncountable category, though 'dishes' or 'food' might be more natural). However, the range is adequate, and the lexical errors do not impede communication, placing this response securely at Band 6.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The response demonstrates a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses ('who aced their exams with exceptional grades') and conditional-like or temporal constructions ('before we reach'). There are a few minor grammatical inaccuracies, such as 'good health and well-being' (a slight redundancy) and tense shifting in 'We advised your staff to serve the food in advance before we reach' (where 'reached' would maintain proper past tense consistency). Punctuation and sentence boundaries are generally well controlled. Because complex structures are attempted with good frequency despite minor errors, this earns a Band 7.0.

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

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