Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-30

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 sir,

Hope you are doing well. I am writing this letter regarding discussion of us about suggestions to improve the reception area. First of all, I am getting you know about the things that are not good such as furniture the chairs are broken, the way how it organised and the colour of the walls which is very bright directly going to eyes. These are needed to change because reception area is the main part of our office people often come there to reach us and if they are complaining about reception area then it has great impact on our sales of houses. This is improved by changing the furniture of good quality, and well organized all the things in a professional manner and the walls colour has to be removed and painted new in a light color or maybe there are something new in the market for walls called wall banners in different designs which is also good.

Hope this help you.

Your's Sincerely,

Gagandeep Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points: describing complaints, explaining the importance of the reception area, and suggesting improvements. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation of why the area is important is brief and slightly repetitive regarding the impact on sales. The suggestions are practical but could be expanded with more detail to fully meet the requirements of a formal business letter. The tone is generally appropriate for a manager, though it occasionally slips into informal phrasing, such as 'getting you know about'. Overall, the response covers the task requirements adequately but lacks the depth expected for a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into a single block of text, which makes it difficult to follow the progression of ideas. While there is a logical flow from the complaints to the importance and then to the suggestions, the lack of paragraphing is a significant weakness. Cohesive devices are used, but they are often basic or slightly misused, such as 'First of all' and 'This is improved by'. The referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly in the sentence 'the way how it organised', which lacks a clear subject. To improve, you should use distinct paragraphs for each main point and use a wider variety of linking words to connect your ideas more smoothly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. You use some basic terms like 'things', 'good', and 'bad', which could be replaced with more specific business-related vocabulary. There are also some awkward collocations and phrasing, such as 'directly going to eyes' and 'the way how it organised'. While the meaning is generally clear, the limited range of vocabulary and the occasional errors in word choice prevent a higher score. Focusing on learning professional collocations and avoiding overly simplistic descriptors will help you improve your lexical range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the flow of the text. Examples include 'regarding discussion of us about suggestions', 'the way how it organised', and 'the walls colour has to be removed'. There are also issues with subject-verb agreement and article usage. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable. To improve, you should focus on basic sentence construction, ensuring that every sentence has a clear subject and verb, and work on the correct use of prepositions and articles.

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

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