Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-05
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
There have been several complaints about the reception area where visitors to your company arrive. Your manager has asked you to suggest how the reception area could be improved.
Write a letter to your manager. In your letter
- describe the complaints that have been made
- say why the reception area is important
- suggest how the reception area could be improved
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear ................. ,
Student answer (Band 6.5)
Dear Mr Oneil,
I hope you are doing well. I am writing in response to your email about suggestions regarding reception area of our company.
Unfortunately, from the last few months visitors are persistently complaining about the reception area. The most common complaints that have been already made are insufficient seating arrangement and few staff during peak hours between 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.. Honestly, I was expecting these complaints, as whenever my shift starts around 2 p.m., I noticed that customers are waiting for their turn and there is no seating space for them to sit comfortably and wait.
Reception area plays a pivotal role in any organisation. This is mainly because visitors usually approach Human resource deparment or customer service staff to enquire their queries. Additionally, some visitors visiting companies first time, they approach reception area to get detailed information about the company.
I would suggest if you could increase the sitting area by installing more chairs, and also start looking at scheduling. It would be great if you could schedule atleast 3 staff during peak hours. As a result, it would not only improves productivity but also ratings.
I look forward to hearing from you soon
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0
You address all three points clearly: you identify limited seating and too few staff at peak times, explain that visitors use reception to reach departments and obtain company information, and recommend adding chairs and scheduling three staff. The specific 2–4 p.m. period and your observation of visitors waiting help support the complaint. Your purpose and suggestions are clear throughout. To make the ideas more fully developed, explain more directly how reception shapes visitors’ first impressions and clarify how the staffing change would improve their experience. The final benefit, “ratings,” is also rather general; specify whose ratings or what kind of feedback you mean.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0
The letter follows a clear, logical progression: it introduces the issue, describes the complaints, explains reception’s role, and then offers solutions. Paragraphing supports this sequence, and linking expressions such as “Additionally” and “As a result” help connect ideas. The opening and closing also suit a formal letter. Some connections could be smoother: the move from the complaints to the importance of reception is clear but abrupt, and the final sentence links staffing to productivity and ratings without explaining the relationship. A more explicit transition and a clearer explanation of the outcome would make the progression feel more fully connected, while retaining your effective overall organisation.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
You use an adequate range for the topic, including “persistently complaining,” “peak hours,” and “plays a pivotal role.” These choices communicate the main points, though some less common expressions are not fully accurate or natural. For example, “insufficient seating arrangement” and “increase the sitting area” are awkward ways to describe the problem and solution; “limited seating” and “provide more seating” would be more idiomatic. “Enquire their queries” is also an imprecise collocation, and “ratings” is vague in this context. There are spelling errors in “deparment” and “atleast.” More precise, natural collocations and careful proofreading would strengthen the vocabulary while preserving your clear meaning.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a conditional suggestion (“It would be great if…”) and a result clause. The meaning remains clear, but some grammatical errors occur. In “from the last few months visitors are…,” the time expression and tense need correction; “over the last few months, visitors have been…” is more accurate. “Whenever my shift starts…, I noticed” shifts tense inconsistently, while “it would not only improves” should be “it would not only improve.” There are also article and sentence-pattern issues in “Reception area plays…” and “approach reception area.” Review tense consistency, verb forms after modal verbs, and articles. These corrections would make your varied sentence structures more controlled.
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