Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-14

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 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

We recently organised an all day meeting for our company which took place at your hotel yesterday. I just wanted to share my opinion regarding the experience we had at your hotel.

My team and I personally appreciate your staff initiative for welcoming us with such a great environment and the staff was very friendly and was taking care of all our queries. Our expectations of doing a meeting in this hotel was very much satisfied .

While on the other hand, there is one thing I would like to bring into your attention the food experience we had at your place was not well. My team was not happy with the quality of food served compared to our expectations for this hotel.

I recommend additional culinary options can be combined as we have people from all different backgrounds moreover if food could be kept warm and fresh at all times as some items were reheated again in buffet and not well organised. This will not only help us but also will benefit your company for future business opportunities .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly state what was liked (the environment and staff), explain the dissatisfaction with the food (quality and temperature), and provide constructive suggestions for improvement. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter. However, the development of ideas is somewhat basic. For instance, the explanation of why the food was poor could be more specific to help the manager understand the exact nature of the problem. To reach a higher band, ensure that your suggestions are more detailed and directly linked to the issues raised, providing a more professional and persuasive tone throughout the letter.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into paragraphs, with each paragraph focusing on a specific aspect of the task. The progression of ideas is clear, moving from the positive feedback to the complaint and finally to the suggestions. You use some cohesive devices such as 'While on the other hand' and 'moreover', though some transitions feel slightly mechanical or forced. The referencing is generally clear, and the paragraphing is appropriate for a formal letter. To improve, try to use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that the transition between the positive and negative feedback is smoother and more natural.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your points clearly. You use some relevant business-related terms like 'business opportunities' and 'culinary options'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'staff initiative for welcoming us' (which is slightly unnatural) and 'doing a meeting' (should be 'holding a meeting'). The range of vocabulary is sufficient but lacks the sophistication or precision required for higher bands. Focusing on more natural collocations and avoiding repetitive phrasing will help elevate your score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. For example, 'bring into your attention' should be 'bring to your attention', and 'was not well' is grammatically incorrect in this context. Additionally, there are issues with subject-verb agreement and preposition usage, such as 'expectations of doing a meeting in this hotel was'. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and sentence structure will be beneficial.

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

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