Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-25

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 Devid,

I hope your doing well. I am writing email regarding the complaints about the reception area. There are plenty of complaints, First is about the staff behaviour, On the reception staff are not greeting visitors welcoming. Instead of showing polite behaviour, they are rood with the customers. Second is the network error, during the documations time, we have slow network connections. people who visit in our company feel uncomfortable during the registration time.

The reception area is important because that is the place where we show our company is well organize and has reputation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, as it is only 96 words long. Consequently, the ideas are significantly under-developed. While you have addressed the three bullet points—describing complaints, explaining the importance of the area, and suggesting improvements—the suggestions for improvement are entirely missing from the text. You have identified the problems but failed to provide the requested solutions. To improve, you must expand on your points with specific details and ensure all parts of the prompt are fully addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter lacks a clear paragraph structure, which makes the flow of information disjointed. While there is a basic attempt to sequence ideas using 'First' and 'Second', the lack of a proper introduction and conclusion, combined with the brevity of the text, hinders the overall progression. Cohesive devices are used in a very mechanical and limited way. To achieve a higher band, you should organize your letter into distinct paragraphs: one for the complaints, one for the importance, and one for your suggestions, using a wider variety of linking words to connect your ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is quite basic and repetitive, which limits your ability to convey ideas precisely. There are several spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'rood' instead of 'rude' and 'documations' instead of 'documentation'. Additionally, 'well organize' should be 'well-organized'. The range of vocabulary is insufficient to express complex ideas effectively. You should focus on learning common collocations and checking your spelling. Expanding your range of descriptive adjectives and professional terminology would significantly improve your score in this area.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'I hope your doing well' (should be 'you're'), 'On the reception staff' (incorrect preposition), and 'people who visit in our company' (should be 'visit our company'). The sentence structures are mostly simple, with limited attempts at complex sentences. To improve, you need to focus on subject-verb agreement, correct preposition usage, and the distinction between possessive adjectives and contractions. Proofreading for basic errors is essential to ensure your writing is accurate.

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.