Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-06

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,

I am writing this letter to provide you feedback on the all-day meeting that was organised by our company in your hotel. Everyone is pleased with the decoration and seating arrangements. Unfortunately, everyone was disappointed by food that was serve in lunch.

All of our employees apricated the arrangements that you made for the meeting. They like valet parking service that you provide at the entrance, followed by the refreshments drinks provided at the reception area and the signboard to the meeting hall. Everyone loved that arrangements.

However, we disappointed with that food service. The food was cold and the appetizers are also too spicy. We particularly mentioned that we want veg and non veg section is on different sides, but all of them are placing together.

Thus we are happy with the staff member they are so helpful. reccomend for the future that please ensure thta

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses all three bullet points of the prompt: the positive aspects of the hotel, the complaints regarding the food, and suggestions for improvement. However, the letter is incomplete, as it cuts off abruptly at the end, failing to finish the final suggestion or provide a formal closing. Additionally, the response is slightly under the 150-word minimum requirement. While the ideas are relevant, the lack of a proper conclusion and the unfinished sentence significantly impact the development of the final point, leading to a lower score for task completion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the flow is hindered by the abrupt ending. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'However' and 'Thus', but they are sometimes used incorrectly or in a way that feels mechanical. For example, 'Thus we are happy with the staff member' does not logically follow the previous paragraph about food complaints. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the lack of a final sign-off makes the overall structure feel incomplete and disjointed.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the message to be understood. There are some attempts at topic-specific language like 'valet parking' and 'seating arrangements'. However, there are several spelling errors, such as 'apricated' (appreciated), 'reccomend' (recommend), and 'thta' (that). Word choice is occasionally imprecise, such as 'decoration' instead of 'facilities' or 'ambience'. The range is limited, and the errors in basic spelling and word formation prevent a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response relies on simple sentence structures with frequent grammatical errors. There are issues with subject-verb agreement and tense consistency, such as 'food that was serve' instead of 'served' and 'appetizers are also too spicy' (should be past tense). Articles are frequently missing or misused, for example, 'disappointed by food' instead of 'the food'. The unfinished final sentence also demonstrates a lack of control over sentence structure. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of errors is high enough to cause some distraction for the reader.

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

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