Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-12
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 6.5)
Dear Mr. Michael,
I am writing this letter regarding some complaints we received from guest about the visitors area in our hotel. They pointed out the fautly TV, bad chairs and faulty air-conditioning unit. Our television set has refused to turn on for about a month now, the place is usually so hot when it is sunny and also some of the plastic chairs are broken. Making this experience uncomfortable for them.
The guest area has always been a place most visitors look forward to whenever they come to the hotel. Most times before they get checked-in to their various rooms, they wait at the reception area for a while to blow off some steam. Furthermore, having this deplorable state of our reception does not speak well of a prestigious company like our hotel. When our customers enter, the guest area is the first place they enter. Therefore, it should always look presentable.
I would like to recommend that newer chairs be bought, and this time chairs with metal frames are highly suggested. moreover, the air-conditioning unit and TV could be fixed by a technician, but I highly advise against that. I would suggest newer ones be bought.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5
You address all three points: you identify the faulty television, uncomfortable and broken chairs, and ineffective air-conditioning; explain that visitors wait in reception and that it creates a first impression; and recommend replacing the chairs and purchasing new equipment. These details make the letter relevant and give the manager a clear sense of the problems. The explanation of reception’s importance is particularly clear, but the proposed improvements could be more fully developed—for example, specify how soon repairs or replacements should happen, or suggest a temporary solution while work is arranged. The advice about the TV and air-conditioning is also slightly unclear because you mention repair before advising against it. More precise, consistently developed recommendations would strengthen the response.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The letter has a clear overall arrangement: complaints are described first, the importance of reception is explained in the next paragraph, and recommendations come last. This sequence helps the reader follow your purpose, and linking expressions such as “Furthermore” and “Therefore” show how ideas relate. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. “Making this experience uncomfortable for them” is a fragment that interrupts the first paragraph, while “but I highly advise against that” makes the recommendation difficult to follow. The repeated references to “guest area” and “reception area” could also be managed more consistently. Use complete sentences and make the contrast between repairing and replacing equipment explicit to improve the flow.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the situation, including “faulty,” “deplorable state,” “presentable,” and “prestigious,” which help communicate the complaints and explain why the area matters. Some less common choices are not fully natural or precise: “blow off some steam” is informal for a letter to a manager, and “guest area” is less specific than “reception area” in this context. There are also spelling and word-choice slips, including “fautly” and “guest” where the plural “guests” is needed. Aim for consistently professional collocations and check spelling carefully. More precise terms for the equipment and proposed work would make the recommendations sound more polished.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0
You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the explanation beginning “Most times before they get checked-in” and the recommendation joined with “but.” The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical and punctuation errors are present. “Making this experience uncomfortable for them” is a sentence fragment and should be joined to the preceding sentence. In “complaints we received from guest,” the noun needs a plural form, and “before they get checked-in” has an unnecessary hyphen in the verb phrase. The final recommendation also needs clearer sentence structure so the contrast between repair and replacement is easy to understand. Review sentence boundaries, articles and plurals, and aim for accurate complex sentences.
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