Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-18

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 4.5)

Dear Manager,

I hope you're doing well. I have received a lot of complaints from visitors regarding the reception area at our company. As what you have requested to me about my suggestion where we could improve some areas in the reception. First of all, many visitors complain about spending too much time waiting for them to check in, and also about the check-out time. Some of the visitors are additionally complaining of poor customer service, which is reflecting bad in our company repuation. `

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The student attempts to address the prompt by mentioning complaints about the reception area and referencing the manager's request. However, the response is severely underdeveloped and critically under-length at only 85 words, falling well short of the 150-word minimum requirement. Furthermore, while the first bullet point regarding complaints is partially touched upon, the other two bullet points—explaining why the reception area is important and suggesting specific improvements—are completely omitted. Consequently, the task is only minimally addressed, warranting a low band score in accordance with the descriptors for incomplete task fulfilment.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.5

The letter opens with an appropriate salutation and an initial opening sentence, but it quickly breaks down into a single, poorly connected block of text. The transition 'As what you have requested to me about my suggestion' is ungrammatical and lacks coherence. There is no clear paragraphing or logical progression of ideas developed across the text. While basic linking is attempted, the overall organisation is disrupted by incomplete thoughts and abrupt shifts between points, limiting the response to a modest score for cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses a limited vocabulary range suitable for basic communication, such as 'reception area', 'company', and 'customer service'. However, there are notable lexical errors and unnatural collocations throughout the text. For instance, the phrase 'reflecting bad in our company repuation' contains incorrect preposition usage and a spelling error ('reputation'). Attempts to use more descriptive language are hindered by these inaccuracies, restricting the lexical resource to a lower-intermediate level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

The response features a very limited range of grammatical structures. The sentence 'As what you have requested to me about my suggestion where we could improve some areas in the reception' is a fragmented, grammatically flawed construction that lacks a main verb clause. Additional errors include tense and prepositions, such as 'complaining of poor customer service'. While simple sentences are occasionally managed, the frequent presence of major grammatical errors impedes clear communication and pulls the grammar score down.

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

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