Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-20

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 6.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter to make a complaint regarding the quality of food served in the meeting yesterday. I had booked the hotel for all-day meeting in which our investors from a reputed firms came to look into the plan of the future goals. However, everything was running smooth whether it were audio-visual facilities, the wifi or the conference hall arrangements.

The overall conduct of the meeting was appreciated as the facilities provided were beyond expectations. Moreover, we have been conducting our meetings in this hotel from the past 10 years. Unfortunately, the food served on that day was not well cooked. Apart from that, it was not fresh and felt like it was served expired.

Majority of our colleagues are suffering from bad stomach as if they have caught food poisoning. This has never happened in my experience and it was least expected from such a reputed hotel. We are not filing a law suit against the hotel but surely looking for a response on the incident happened.

I request the team to check the food beforehand. Additionally, conduct regular audits to check the quality and expired dates of the food stored in the storage area.

I am looking forward to hear from you.

Yours sincerely,

Harman

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task effectively. You clearly identified what was liked (audio-visual facilities, wifi, conference hall), explained the issue with the food (not well cooked, not fresh, potential food poisoning), and provided actionable suggestions for the manager. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter of complaint, and your position is clear throughout. To reach a higher band, ensure that the development of ideas is slightly more balanced; for instance, the suggestion section could be expanded with more specific details on how the hotel might improve their catering service, such as implementing a new supplier or changing the menu preparation process.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. You use cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Moreover', 'Apart from that', and 'Additionally' to link your ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different aspects of your complaint. While the flow is generally good, some transitions feel slightly mechanical. To improve, try to vary your cohesive devices further and ensure that the progression between sentences is seamless. For example, the shift from discussing the meeting facilities to the food complaint is clear, but the connection could be smoother by using a more sophisticated linking phrase.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'reputed firms', 'audio-visual facilities', and 'regular audits'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'from the past 10 years' (should be 'for the past 10 years') and 'suffering from bad stomach' (should be 'suffering from an upset stomach'). The phrase 'served expired' is also slightly unnatural. To achieve a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and idiomatic expressions that are appropriate for a formal business context, while ensuring that your word choices are consistently accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'I am writing this letter to make a complaint...' and 'I had booked the hotel for all-day meeting in which our investors...'. While you show control over basic grammar, there are several errors, including missing articles ('for all-day meeting'), subject-verb agreement issues ('everything was running smooth' should be 'smoothly'), and awkward phrasing ('incident happened' should be 'incident that happened'). These errors do not impede communication, but they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on proofreading for articles, adverbs, and tense consistency.

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

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