Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-24

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 5.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this on behalf of my company for the recently organised meeting at your hotel on 20 August,2026.

We are really appreciate the hotel management and staff for helping us in arranging a successful meeting for our investors. We are thankful for your prompt service to our guest. I would like to share some thoughts of our participants with you. They appreciated the meeting room arrangements, specially the modern technology setup like projector, clean screen, and the seating arrangements. Moreover, few shared positive thoughts on the taxi and cab service offered by hotel.

However, the participants were disappointed with the food arrangement. The food was cold and not properly cooked. Their were no options for vegan or

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to address all parts of the task because it is incomplete and ends abruptly mid-sentence. While the first two bullet points are partially covered—mentioning the positive aspects of the hotel and the complaints about the food—the third bullet point regarding suggestions for improvement is entirely missing. Furthermore, the response is significantly under the 150-word minimum requirement, which severely limits the development of ideas. To improve, you must ensure all parts of the prompt are addressed and provide a complete, well-developed letter that meets the length requirement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter begins with a logical structure, using an appropriate salutation and an introductory paragraph. However, because the text is incomplete, the overall progression is interrupted. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover' and 'However' are used to link ideas, but the lack of a conclusion and the abrupt ending make the text feel disjointed. To achieve a higher score, ensure that your letter has a clear beginning, middle, and end, and use a wider variety of cohesive devices to connect your points more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, with phrases like 'prompt service' and 'modern technology setup' being appropriate for a formal letter. However, there are some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'We are really appreciate' (should be 'We really appreciate') and 'Their were no options' (should be 'There were'). The range of vocabulary is limited by the short length of the response. Expanding your vocabulary to include more precise business-related terms would help improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains several grammatical errors that affect clarity, such as the confusion between 'their' and 'there', and the incorrect verb form 'We are really appreciate'. While there is an attempt at using complex sentence structures, the frequent errors in basic grammar and punctuation, combined with the incomplete nature of the sentences, hinder the overall quality. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and proofreading for common homophone errors like 'their/there'.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.