Band 8.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 8.0 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-18

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 8.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to provide feedback about the all-day meeting that our company recently held at your hotel. Overall, the participants were pleased with the hotel and appreciated the comfortable meeting room, friendly staff, and clean facilities. They also liked the convenient location and the professional service provided throughout the day.

However, the participants were disappointed with the lunch that was served. The food was not very fresh, and there were limited choices available. In particular, several participants felt that the vegetarian options were not suitable. In addition, the meal was served quite late, which meant that some people had very little time to eat before the meeting continued.

I would suggest offering a wider range of fresh meals, including better vegetarian and healthy options. It would also be helpful to ask guests about their dietary requirements in advance and ensure that lunch is served on time. Improving the quality and variety of the food would make the overall experience much better for future meetings.

Thank you for considering this feedback. I hope these suggestions will be helpful in improving your catering service.

Yours faithfully,

Arshdeep Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The response fully addresses all three bullet points of the task. You clearly identified the positive aspects of the hotel, such as the meeting room and staff, and provided specific reasons for the dissatisfaction regarding the lunch, including freshness and timing. The suggestions for improvement are practical and directly address the issues raised. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter, and the purpose is clear from the beginning. You have successfully covered all requirements of the prompt, ensuring the reader understands both the praise and the constructive criticism provided.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0

The letter is well-organized with a logical progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task, which makes the letter easy to follow. You have used cohesive devices effectively, such as 'However', 'In particular', and 'In addition', to link your points smoothly. The transition between the positive feedback and the complaints is handled well. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different sections of the letter, contributing to a clear and professional structure throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You have used a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly and professionally. Phrases like 'dietary requirements', 'professional service', and 'catering service' are well-chosen and appropriate for the context of a formal business letter. While the vocabulary is accurate and functional, it is generally standard. To reach a higher band, you could incorporate more sophisticated collocations or less common lexical items to demonstrate greater flexibility. However, the current range is more than adequate for the task and there are no errors in word choice.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 8.0

The writing is highly accurate, with a variety of sentence structures used correctly. You have successfully employed both simple and complex sentences, such as 'The food was not very fresh, and there were limited choices available' and 'Improving the quality and variety of the food would make the overall experience much better for future meetings.' Punctuation is used correctly throughout, and there are no grammatical errors that impede communication. The control over tense and subject-verb agreement is consistent, reflecting a high level of grammatical competence.

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