Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-08

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

Student answer (Band 6.0)

You recently stayed at a hotel in a large city. The weather was very unusual for the time of year, and the heating/cooling system in the hotel room was completely inadequate.

Write a letter to the manager of the hotel. In your letter:

• Give details of what was wrong

• Explain what you had to do to overcome the problem at the time

• Say what action you would like the manager to take

Dear Manager,

My name is Prutha Patel, an international tourist in your country Canada. I am writing this letter to complain about an unsatisfactory experience I had during my stay in your hotel "ABC inn".

I came here to celebrate Christmas with local citizens of Edmonton and checked into your place on 23rd December. And in the mid night suddenly the heater stopped working, and all my efforts to contact with your hotel service was failed, leaving me unattended in freezing cold. Unfortunatelly I had to cover my self with all my winter clothes and jackets, ruining my next day trip to Banf. Certainly, I will share my negative reviews on google to aware further guests.

I need you to take strict disciplinery actions against you staff and also return my payment as I specifically payed extra for better experience which I did not have.

Yours faithfully

Prutha

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three requested points: you describe the heater failing at night, explain that you used your winter clothes and jackets to keep warm, and request staff discipline and a refund. The complaint is clearly relevant, and the details about your Christmas visit and the effect on your trip make it more specific. Some parts, however, are less fully developed: you do not explain how long the room remained cold or whether you tried any other way to reach staff, and the requested action is quite broad. To strengthen the letter further, state precisely what remedy you expect and briefly explain why it would be fair. The warning about posting a review is understandable but could be expressed more diplomatically.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter follows a recognisable order: you introduce the complaint, describe the incident and its consequences, then state what you want the manager to do. The greeting and sign-off also suit a formal complaint. However, the main body is compressed into two long paragraphs, and the sequence of events would be easier to follow if the incident and your response were separated. Some links are awkward or mechanical, particularly the opening of the second paragraph with “And in the mid night.” The final request also moves abruptly from staff discipline to a refund. Use clearer paragraphing and transitions, and connect each requested action to the problem described.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for a hotel complaint, including “unsatisfactory experience,” “freezing cold,” “negative reviews,” and “extra for better experience.” These choices communicate the main problem and its impact. There are also several spelling and word-choice errors that reduce precision, such as “Unfortunatelly,” “Banf,” “disciplinery,” and “payed.” Some phrases are unnatural or imprecise, including “contact with your hotel service” and “to aware further guests.” Aim for accurate spelling and more natural collocations, such as “contact the hotel staff” and “warn future guests.” A more measured phrase than “strict disciplinary actions” would also help maintain a professional tone.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, and the reader can understand the main events. For example, the sentence beginning “I came here to celebrate Christmas” gives background before describing the heater failure. However, some grammatical errors remain, including “all my efforts … was failed,” where the subject and verb do not agree and the passive construction is incorrect, and “I specifically payed extra,” where the past-tense form is inaccurate. The sentence beginning “And in the mid night suddenly” also has an awkward structure and punctuation. Practise forming past-tense clauses accurately and separating long sentences into clear units. These improvements would make the account smoother while preserving your range of sentence structures.

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