Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-05

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 manager,

I am writing a letter to inform you that recently, I recieved lots of complaints about the reception area of our company.

Yesterday, I was checking unread mails on my laptop. I was totally shocked, when I saw numerous disappointing mail about our reception area. Visitors mentioned that reception area was not clean and every visitor had to wait for 5 to 10 minutes on reception area.

Reception area is a repotation of every company. If we have good reception area, than every visitors feel comfartable and happy. Moreover, they will suggest to freinds for our company.

It is my suggestion that every morning we have to clean our reception area. If we have less staff for this, we can hire from staff.

your faithfully,

jasdeep

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by describing the complaints, explaining the importance of the reception area, and offering suggestions for improvement. However, some ideas remain under-developed. For instance, the complaints are mentioned rather generally without rich specifics, and the suggestions lack depth. Furthermore, the length requirement is not met, as the response is 22 words short of the 150-word minimum, which restricts the depth of task fulfilment.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph-by-paragraph structure that follows the prompt's logical flow. Cohesive devices and referencing are sometimes mechanical or basic, such as the repetitive use of 'If we have' and transitions like 'Moreover'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate the introduction, complaints, importance, suggestions, and sign-off, providing a visible framework even if transitions lack variety and sophistication.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, providing a sufficient range to communicate the main points. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'recieved', 'repotation', 'comfartable', and 'freinds', alongside awkward collocations like 'numerous disappointing mail'. These lexical slips and spelling errors occasionally draw attention, reflecting limited flexibility and control over less common items.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional clauses ('If we have good reception area, than every visitors feel comfartable'). However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, including missing articles ('the reception area', 'a reputation'), plural agreement issues ('every visitors'), and incorrect prepositions ('on reception area'). These errors can cause occasional difficulty or distraction for the reader.

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