Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-03

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 5.0)

dear sir / ma'am!

the complaint about the reception area is there're small space to do work and if someone is coming to reception there's no space to stand .

the second complain is that its not even a clean place.

furthermore there are're no chairs to sit their as a receptionist ..

you know the reception srea is very important in all over the schools,hotels,colleges,hospitals etc

and we have to manage this place very well because all people firstly come at reception because they wanna know about something and the staff on reception have all the knowledge about where they have ...

if we clean the reception area then its a good for us and for other peoples who are visitng reception.if we add more chairs for the peoples to sit ..

and furthermore' we have to maintain that place with a good discipline and well managed stafff with a good place

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the main parts of the task by mentioning complaints, noting the importance of the area, and suggesting improvements, which places it at this level. However, the development of these ideas is limited and under-developed. For instance, the complaints about space and cleanliness are stated very briefly without sufficient detail about how they impact daily operations. Similarly, the suggestions to clean the area and add chairs are quite basic, such as 'if we add more chairs for the peoples to sit'. To move to a higher band, the writer needs to extend and support these ideas with more specific details and explanations regarding the reception area's layout and functionality.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some basic organisation present, with the letter broken down into distinct paragraph-like sections that address the prompt's bullet points. However, there is no clear overall progression of ideas, and the flow is hindered by abrupt transitions between points. Cohesive devices are largely inadequate or repetitive, with frequent use of basic connectors like 'furthermore' and 'and'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the phrase 'where they have ...' which leaves the meaning incomplete. To improve cohesion, the writer should use a wider variety of cohesive devices more accurately and ensure logical links between sentences are smoother, creating a clearer narrative progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task, with frequent noticeable errors that may cause some difficulty for the reader. The writer relies on basic and repetitive terms, such as 'place' and 'reception area', and attempts at less common vocabulary result in awkward phrasing or incorrect word choices, like 'srea' and 'peoples'. There are also several spelling and word form errors throughout the text, including 'complain' instead of 'complaint' and 'stafff'. To achieve a higher score, the writer needs to expand their lexical range, demonstrate better control over word choice and collocation, and eliminate basic spelling mistakes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The writing displays a limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences alongside faulty attempts at complex ones. Frequent errors in grammar and punctuation can cause difficulty for the reader, including issues with subject-verb agreement ('there're small space', 'there are're no chairs'), articles ('on reception', 'at reception'), and plurals ('other peoples'). Punctuation is also problematic, marked by missing capitals at the beginning of sentences and misused apostrophes. To progress, the writer must improve their control over basic grammatical patterns, sentence construction, and punctuation accuracy, aiming for a higher proportion of error-free sentences.

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

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