Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-10

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 5.0)

Dear sir,

I am writing this letter to complain about the reception area. Many people visit this company every day but they face many problem in the coumpany and bad effect on company performance.

Firstly, when people come reception area it is not clean. and office boy not available in the reception and many people wait for office boy. In addition, sometime office boy have any friend and talk with friend and do not focus your work and guest face many problems.

Furthermore, Your receptionist sometime without uniform and many people do not judge who is my help. Sometime one office boy in the reception area so many people wait for your turn. And some time your office boy eat lunch at the reception and dishes on table Itis not good habbit for company.

I suggest you take this action and hire more 2 boys for reception and well dress or unoform make a strict rule for reception.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Usman

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You cover the main points by describing complaints about cleanliness, staff availability, uniforms and eating at the reception, and you offer actions such as hiring more staff and setting a dress rule. However, the task is only partially addressed: you do not clearly explain why the reception area is important, such as its role in creating visitors’ first impression or helping them access the company. The opening says you are writing “to complain,” although the letter is meant to suggest improvements to your manager, and the proposed actions are brief and not fully explained. State the purpose more appropriately, explain the reception’s importance, and connect each suggestion to a specific complaint to develop the response further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter has a recognisable sequence: it introduces the issue, lists complaints, gives a suggestion, and closes politely. Linking expressions such as “Firstly,” “In addition,” and “Furthermore” help signal the progression. However, the complaints are crowded into long paragraphs, and the repeated use of “sometime” and “many people” makes the progression feel repetitive rather than carefully organised. Some connections are unclear, for example, “office boy have any friend and talk with friend” does not clearly show how this relates to visitors’ difficulties. Use separate paragraphs for the complaints and recommendations, and group related points together. Clearer references and more varied linking would make the letter easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use a basic set of words relevant to the situation, including “reception area,” “complaints,” “hire,” and “strict rule,” so the reader can identify the main concerns. However, vocabulary is limited and several inaccurate or awkward choices make parts difficult to understand. For example, “office boy” is repeated and is not a suitable professional term here; “many problem,” “bad effect on company performance,” and “who is my help” are unclear or unnatural. Spelling errors such as “coumpany,” “unoform,” and “habbit” also weaken control. Build a more precise range for workplace correspondence, including terms for visitors, reception staff, cleanliness and first impressions, and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response mainly uses simple statements and attempts some longer sentences with “when,” “and,” and “in addition.” These attempts show an effort to connect ideas, but the structures are often faulty, and frequent errors can make the reader work to understand the message. Examples include “when people come reception area,” “office boy not available,” and “many people wait for your turn,” where articles, prepositions, verb forms or agreement are missing or incorrect. Sentence boundaries and punctuation are also unreliable, as in “it is not clean. and office boy…” Practise accurate basic sentence patterns first, then add controlled complex sentences. Check each sentence for a clear subject and verb, correct articles, and appropriate punctuation.

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