Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-30

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 Smith,

I am writing in response to your query regarding the improvements in the reception area. There have been a lot of complaints concerning the reception lately.

Several complainants asked for a better sitting area near the reception. There are only two sofas which can accommodate six people at one time. The rest have to stand. Furthermore, there are complaints that reception is short staffed. There is only one receptionist to deal with every customer.

The reception area is of key importance and it reflects the overall image of the company. We should make people comfortable as much as we can. The receptionist also guides the customers to which department they should go. This filters out unnecessary load at the departments.

I would like to suggest the improvements that we can make to solve these reservations. Firstly, hire two more receptionists to fill the staff gap. Also, add two more comfortable sofa sitting in the waiting area of the reception.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

John.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You address all three points clearly: you describe the limited seating and the single receptionist, explain that reception shapes the company’s image and directs visitors, and recommend hiring staff and adding sofas. The specific detail that the sofas seat six people helps make the complaint concrete, while the proposed actions respond directly to it. Your purpose and position remain clear throughout. To strengthen the response further, develop the importance of reception a little more—for example, explain how a welcoming, efficient first contact can affect visitors’ confidence in the company. The suggestions could also be more fully specified, such as how the extra staff would reduce waiting or when the seating should be expanded.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter has a clear progression: it introduces the issue, sets out the complaints, explains reception’s role, and then gives recommendations. Paragraphing supports this sequence, and signposts such as “Furthermore,” “Firstly,” and “Also” make the relationships between points easy to follow. The closing is appropriate and the reader can readily understand the purpose. Some linking is a little mechanical, particularly the list-like transition from “Firstly” to “Also.” You could make the recommendations flow more naturally by connecting each one explicitly to the relevant complaint, and use a smoother transition into the explanation of reception’s importance. Overall, however, the organisation is logical and the ideas progress clearly.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task and includes some useful formal expressions, such as “in response to your query,” “key importance,” and “reflects the overall image.” The wording generally communicates the complaints and recommendations clearly. However, some choices are inaccurate or unnatural: “solve these reservations” does not mean resolve the complaints, and “comfortable sofa sitting” is an awkward phrase. “Reception” is also repeated frequently, and “a lot of complaints” is less precise than the rest of the letter’s tone. Aim for more natural collocations and vary repeated terms, while keeping the language appropriately formal. These occasional word-choice and collocation problems do not prevent the reader from understanding your message.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and more developed sentence forms, including the explanation that the receptionist “guides the customers” and that this “filters out unnecessary load.” Most sentences are understandable, and the complaint details are expressed clearly. Some grammatical inaccuracies remain. For example, “There is only one receptionist to deal with every customer” would be more natural as “There is only one receptionist to deal with all the customers,” and “add two more comfortable sofa sitting” needs a plural noun construction, such as “add two more comfortable sofas.” The sentence beginning “The receptionist also guides…” could be joined more clearly to the following explanation. Greater accuracy with plural forms and sentence connections, alongside the range already attempted, would improve control.

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