Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-02

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 6.0)

Dear Chris,

I am writing this email in regard to formally speak with you about the complaints we have received for the reception.

To start with, family members have been complaining, that receptionist do not receive there call on time and do not follow-up, Moreover, fax reports are not sent to nursing department on time, this is very crucial to meet up with client needs and can not be neglected.

As we have discussed previously, it is very important to keep the reception area well balanced and organised. It is non negotiable for our clients to feel less valued. I would like to advise some changes, calls will be directed to manager if not received by reception, furthermore, I will arrange a small cabinet beside first-aid box to keep all received fax paper so that nurses could collect them on timely manner.

I hope you understand the purpose of this email.

Your faithfully,

Mahi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the prompt: describing the complaints, explaining the importance of the reception area, and suggesting improvements. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a manager. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation of why the reception area is important is brief, and the suggestions for improvement could be more detailed to demonstrate a higher level of critical thinking. To reach a higher band, ensure that each point is expanded upon with more specific detail or reasoning, rather than just stating the facts.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical structure with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. You have used some cohesive devices such as 'To start with', 'Moreover', and 'furthermore' to link your ideas. However, the use of these devices is occasionally mechanical or slightly awkward, such as the comma splice in the second paragraph ('...complaining, that receptionist...'). Paragraphing is present, but the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that referencing (e.g., 'there' instead of 'their') is accurate to maintain clear logical progression.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to convey your message, such as 'formally', 'crucial', and 'non-negotiable'. However, there are several errors in word choice and spelling that slightly hinder the professional tone. For example, you used 'there' instead of the possessive 'their', and 'timely manner' is used correctly, but the phrasing 'well balanced' in the context of a reception area is slightly imprecise. To improve, focus on mastering common collocations and ensuring that basic homophones like 'there/their' are used correctly in a professional context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with punctuation and verb agreement. For example, 'receptionist do not receive' should be 'receptionists do not receive', and there are several comma splices where sentences should be separated by periods or semicolons. Additionally, the phrase 'Your faithfully' is incorrect; it should be 'Yours faithfully'. These errors are noticeable but do not prevent the reader from understanding your suggestions. Increasing your control over basic sentence construction and punctuation will help improve your score.

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

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