Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-19

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

Student answer (Band 5.0)

Harinder (6712)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with my recent stay at your hotel. Although I had expected a comfortable and pleasant experience; unfortunately I faced several problems.

The main purpose of my stay was to attend the meeting that was held on August 12 from 3pm to 6pm to discuss the some sales problems but this meeting took longer due to this I decided to stay at your hotel.

However, I experienced several problems during my stay. Firstly the air conditioner was not properly functioning, I called to the receptionist to inform this problem but nobody resolved this problem due to this I felt uncomfortable. Another problem is that room was not properly cleaned all the lineses were very dirty.

These issues caused inconvenience specially because I needed to be well rested. I would suggest you improve your housekeeping and

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers the main purpose of the letter and expresses dissatisfaction with the hotel stay, mentioning specific problems like the air conditioner and cleanliness. However, the tone is not fully sustained throughout and the letter trails off at the end without a complete closing statement, leaving the final bullet point of the prompt unaddressed. Furthermore, as officially noted, the length requirement of 150 words was not met (the response contains 147 words), which negatively impacts the overall task achievement score. To improve, ensure you fully develop all parts of the prompt, maintain an appropriate formal complaint tone, and always check that your word count exceeds the minimum threshold.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter exhibits a basic logical organisation with an appropriate opening salutation and a clear initial statement of purpose. However, coherence is hindered by poor sentence boundary punctuation, such as comma splices in phrases like 'expected a comfortable and pleasant experience; unfortunately I faced' and run-on structures like 'this meeting took longer due to this I decided'. Paragraphing is also disrupted by the incomplete final sentence, which leaves the text disjointed. Cohesive devices are repetitive, relying heavily on phrases like 'due to this' and 'several problems'. To achieve a higher band, you need to use a wider variety of cohesive links and ensure proper punctuation to guide the reader smoothly through your arguments.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses a minimally adequate range of vocabulary for a formal complaint letter, successfully incorporating terms such as 'dissatisfaction', 'comfortable', and 'housekeeping'. However, there are notable lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'lineses' instead of 'linen' or 'sheets', and repetitive use of common words like 'problem'. Collocations are occasionally unnatural, for instance, 'called to the receptionist to inform this problem'. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the basic message, the frequent errors and lack of less common lexical items prevent the response from reaching a higher band score. Expanding your vocabulary and learning correct collocations will greatly benefit this area.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as the concessive clause 'Although I had expected...'. However, grammatical accuracy is weak due to numerous errors, including run-on sentences, missing articles ('the room', 'the receptionist'), and punctuation misuse. For example, the sentence starting with 'Firstly the air conditioner...' lacks proper separation, and 'discuss the some sales problems' contains a redundant article. While these errors rarely completely impede communication, their frequency means that error-free sentences are in the minority. Improving sentence construction, avoiding comma splices, and paying closer attention to articles and prepositions will lead to a better grade.

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

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