Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-29

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 Manager,

This letter is regarding the complaints about the reception area. Visitors have been experiencing a toxic behaviour at our front desk. The reception at the moment only have one person at a time, creating long line of visitors who seek help. This in result creates impatience among the customers. While one person may try hard to manage all the visitors at once, it eventually becomes impossible to handle all the pressure. Listening phone calls and reading emails are integral part of a receptionist, which in addition cause hindrance while attending visitors.

My suggestion to you is increase the front desk size and double the amount of receptionist. More workers means easy handling of tasks. One individual can peacefully attend visitors while other person can listen to the daily phone calls and read email inquiries as well. I am confident that this solution can definitely eradicate any complaints relating to reception area.

thanks.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points: describing the complaints, explaining the importance of the reception area, and suggesting improvements. However, the explanation of why the reception area is important is somewhat underdeveloped. While you mention that it is the first point of contact, the response could be more explicit about the impact on the company's reputation or professional image. The tone is generally appropriate for a letter to a manager, though it could be slightly more formal. The ideas are relevant, but the development of the 'importance' aspect is brief, which prevents a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each focusing on a specific part of the prompt. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'While one person may try hard' and 'In addition', to link ideas. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For example, the jump from describing the problem to the suggestion could be better bridged with a more formal transition. Overall, the structure is coherent and serves the purpose of the letter well.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'integral part', 'hindrance', and 'eradicate'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For instance, 'experiencing a toxic behaviour' is not a natural collocation in this context; 'unprofessional conduct' or 'poor service' would be more precise. Similarly, 'listening phone calls' should be 'answering phone calls'. While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise vocabulary usage to reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'only have one person' (should be 'has'), 'long line' (should be 'long lines'), and 'double the amount of receptionist' (should be 'receptionists'). Additionally, 'Listening phone calls' is grammatically incorrect; it should be 'Answering phone calls'. While the meaning remains clear throughout the letter, the frequency of these minor errors in subject-verb agreement and pluralization limits the score. Increasing your control over these basic structures will significantly improve your writing.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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