Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-01

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, I want to put your kindly attention to the to the reception area where visitors to our company comes.

many visitors came to me regarding some complaints a like, They find dirty area, empty packets on the floor and some time they found many insects and flies are roaming around the reception area.

Reception area is very much important for visitors because they can wait there meanwhile there work being processed.

I want you to kindly come to that area, Check it yourself and help us to clear these kindly of complaints.

To clear these complaints i can give you some suggestions if you like you can implement by tomorrow on words.

The first suggestion, We can use some more dustbins and also give advice to the staff to clear the area with good chemicals on a certain period of time by using this method we can get rid from incents and flies in that particular area.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the main parts of the task by describing complaints, mentioning the importance of the reception area, and offering suggestions for improvement. However, some ideas are limited and under-developed, placing the response in the mid-range. For instance, the description of the complaints touches upon dirty floors and insects, but lacks elaboration on how these issues specifically impact visitors. Similarly, the reasoning behind why the reception area is important is overly simplistic, stating only that visitors wait there while work is processed. To move to a higher level, you should extend and fully develop each bullet point with more specific details and clearer explanations, ensuring every part of the prompt receives equal and thorough attention.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some organisation present in the letter, as the writer attempts to follow the standard format of addressing a manager and moving from complaints to suggestions. However, there is a lack of clear overall progression, and the transitions between ideas feel abrupt. Paragraphing is weak, with several short, disjointed lines instead of cohesive blocks of text. Cohesive devices are either missing or used repetitively, such as starting multiple sentences with basic transitional phrases or simple conjunctions. To achieve a higher score, you need to group related ideas into logical paragraphs and use a wider variety of cohesive devices, such as referencing words and transition markers, to guide the reader smoothly through your arguments.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task, containing noticeable errors that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. There are instances of awkward phrasing and incorrect word forms, such as 'kindly attention', 'a like', 'clear these kindly of complaints', and 'incents' instead of insects. Common words are repeated, and there is little attempt to use less common lexical items with precision. To improve this criterion, you should expand your vocabulary by learning accurate collocations and practicing the correct forms of words. Paying closer attention to spelling and choosing more precise terms for business and professional communication will help lift your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing demonstrates a very limited range of structures, relying mostly on simple sentences with frequent errors in grammar, punctuation, and agreement. Attempts at more complex sentences result in faulty structures, as seen in 'where visitors to our company comes' (subject-verb agreement error) and 'you can implement by tomorrow on words'. There are also frequent issues with articles, prepositions, and punctuation, such as missing commas and incorrect capitalization in the middle of sentences. These frequent errors can cause some difficulty for the reader. To reach a higher band, you must increase your control over basic grammatical structures, ensure correct verb tenses and agreement, and incorporate a wider variety of accurate complex sentence forms.

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.