Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-11-12

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You recently organised an all-day meeting for your company, which took place in a local hotel. In their feedback, participants at the meeting said that they liked the hotel, but they were unhappy about the food that was served for lunch.

Write a letter to the manager of the hotel. In your letter

• say what the participants liked about the hotel
• explain why they were unhappy about the food
• suggest what the manager should do to improve the food in future

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter to complaint about the meal that was provided to participants after the meeting got completed.

Meeting was held in hotel.It was a huge area includes garden,dinning area,swimming pool etc. The participants like the ambience of the hotel. It was so clean and peaceful.The main thing was staffs were very humble and helpful. After the meeting participants can stroll out in garden and spend their time with collegues.

While, everyone gather for lunch they notice that the food was not good enough it was covered with oil and some varities were so blend they were really disappointed about food. Participants came early for their work and they were faminish.

I request manager of the hotel to look after the food taste and quality ,participants were greatly disappointed . So i what you to do something about it and make sure that it will not happen again. I will wait for your relpy.

Thank you.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The letter addresses all three required points: it praises the hotel’s ambience, cleanliness, garden and helpful staff; explains that the lunch was oily and bland; and asks the manager to improve its taste and quality. These details make the complaint relevant and understandable. However, some ideas are only briefly stated. For example, “some varieties were so bland” does not explain whether the problem was limited choice, preparation or overall quality, and the request for improvement remains general. The opening says the purpose is to complain, but a more measured, professional tone would suit a letter to a hotel manager. Specify practical steps, such as reviewing preparation and gathering dietary or menu preferences, to develop the final point.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an opening, a paragraph about the hotel, one about the lunch, and a closing request. This helps the reader follow the main points. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes awkward, and linking is limited or inaccurate. “While, everyone gather for lunch” does not connect smoothly to the previous paragraph, while “So” introduces the request informally rather than showing a clear logical conclusion. Some details in the hotel paragraph, such as the swimming pool, are listed without a clear link to why participants liked the venue. Use clearer transitions between the positive feedback, the complaint and the proposed solution, and group related details more tightly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main message, including “ambience,” “peaceful,” “helpful,” and “disappointed.” However, the range is limited and several noticeable word-choice, collocation and spelling errors make the letter less natural. For example, “to complaint” should be “to complain,” “dinning” should be “dining,” “blend” should be “bland,” and “faminish” should be “famished.” “The food was covered with oil” is understandable but could be expressed more naturally as “the food was excessively oily.” Some phrases, such as “look after the food taste and quality,” are imprecise. Build a more accurate range for describing food quality and making formal requests, and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The letter communicates its main points, but grammatical errors are frequent and sometimes make the reader pause. Examples include missing articles and verb forms in “Meeting was held in hotel” and “everyone gather for lunch,” as well as the faulty construction “It was a huge area includes garden.” Sentence patterns are mostly simple, and attempts to combine ideas are not consistently controlled. There are also errors in agreement and tense, such as “participants like” and “participants can stroll” when describing a past event. Punctuation and spacing need attention, particularly the missing spaces after full stops. Practise accurate past-tense sentences and basic clause structures before adding more complex forms.

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