Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-04

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 5.5)

Dear Mike,

I am writing this letter to share my suggestions towards the complains which we received regarding the reception area.

Firstly, many clients shared their dissatisfaction towards the lack of chairs and insufficient place to sit and occupy until their queries has been answered. In case this continuous, situation might create more chaos among the clients and higher chance for overcrowd . Consequently, clients lose their patience to stand for the long hours and we might lose premium clients.

Secondly, as you are aware, reception area is the primary place for client to reach our goods and services, making sufficient arrangements at this place might improve better client satisfaction.

Finally, merging reception area with the right side meeting room which is hardly used would largely help the area to give more specious look and also arranging additional chairs might help to avoid chaos and also give enough place for sitting.

I believe you will consider my suggestions and look for positive changes.

Yours sincerely,

Anjali Reddy

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points of the prompt: describing complaints, explaining the importance of the area, and suggesting improvements. The tone is appropriate for a professional letter to a manager. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For example, the explanation of why the reception area is important is quite brief and could have been expanded to include the impact on the company's professional image. While the suggestions are relevant, they could be more detailed to fully meet the criteria for a higher band. Overall, the response is clear and fulfills the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs for each point, and a closing. The use of cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'Finally' helps to guide the reader through the argument. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'In case this continuous', which lacks a clear subject. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different points, which contributes to the overall readability of the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the message to be conveyed clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'dissatisfaction' and 'premium clients'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'insufficient place to sit' (should be 'insufficient space'), 'reach our goods and services' (should be 'access'), and 'specious look' (likely meant 'spacious'). These errors do not impede communication but indicate a need for more precise word usage.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The letter contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'complains which we received' (should be 'complaints'), 'queries has been answered' (subject-verb agreement error), and 'In case this continuous' (should be 'continues'). Additionally, there are issues with article usage and prepositions, such as 'reception area is the primary place' (needs 'the'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not prevent the reader from understanding the intended meaning.

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.