Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Predictions Nov 2026 · 2026-11-07

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You travelled from Bristol to Edinburgh on a Northstar Airways flight. It was delayed for several hours, and airport staff gave passengers very little information.

Write a letter to the manager of Northstar Airways. In your letter

• explain what happened during the delay and what information you were given
• describe how the delay affected your plans
• say what you would like the airline to do in response

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Sir,

I am writing this letter to inform you regarding the situation that had been created due to delayed flight. I had booked a flight ticket from Bristol to Edinburgh with Northstar Airways last week. Plane supposed to be taken off at it's estimated time but got delay from some reasons which had not been properly informed by the staff members.

During the time, when all the passengers were waiting to board the flight then lack of information, the patience level of traveller went out of control. There were scenes of yelling and arguments between passengers and airport staff that caused the flight to be cancelled and postponed to next week.

The flight was very important for me to board as i was going to attend my cousin's marriage. However, now it is not going to be possible, so i wanted a full refund and a compensation amount for not giving the reason of delay.

Thank you,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three points: you explain that the flight was delayed without a clear reason, describe the disruption at the airport, and request a refund and compensation. The personal consequence—missing your cousin’s wedding—also makes the impact clear. However, some details are unclear or not fully developed: the account says arguments caused the flight to be “cancelled and postponed to next week,” but does not explain what staff actually told passengers or how you learned of the new date. The requested response is also quite brief; specify what compensation you consider appropriate and ask the airline to investigate or improve its communication. Use the requested opening, “Dear Sir or Madam,” and close with a suitable formal sign-off.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a generally coherent order: it introduces the complaint, describes events during the wait, and then explains the personal impact and requested remedy. Paragraphing helps distinguish these stages, and phrases such as “During the time” and “However” signal relationships between ideas. Some connections are less clear, particularly the claim that passenger arguments caused the flight to be cancelled and postponed; the sequence of events and the airline’s role need explaining. The opening and closing also do not fully follow conventional formal-letter structure. To improve progression, present the delay and information received first, then state the consequences, and finish with a clearly framed request and appropriate sign-off.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the complaint and its consequences, including “delayed,” “passengers,” “cancelled,” “full refund,” and “compensation.” There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “inform you” and “estimated time.” However, several choices or combinations sound unnatural or imprecise, including “inform you regarding the situation that had been created,” “taken off,” and “compensation amount for not giving the reason.” These reduce the naturalness and precision of the letter, although the main message remains understandable. Prefer concise, conventional complaint language—for example, “explain the reason for the delay” and “request compensation for the disruption”—and check collocations when using formal vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including the contrast in “However, now it is not going to be possible” and the relative clause “which had not been properly informed.” The overall meaning can usually be followed, but grammatical control is uneven. Examples include the missing auxiliary in “Plane supposed to be taken off,” the incorrect apostrophe in “it’s estimated time,” and the awkward construction “when all the passengers were waiting to board the flight then lack of information.” There are also errors in capitalization and sentence formation, such as lowercase “i.” Work on complete clause structure, articles, verb forms, and punctuation; shorter, carefully checked sentences would make the account clearer while you build more reliable complex sentences.

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.