Band 8.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 8.0 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-02

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 our company recently held at your hotel.

Overall, the participants were very pleased with the hotel. They particularly appreciated the comfortable meeting room, which was spacious, well-equipped and suitable for our group. They also commented positively on the friendly and helpful staff, as well as the clean and pleasant surroundings. These features helped to create a professional atmosphere for the meeting.

However, there were several complaints about the lunch. The food was served late, and some dishes were cold when they arrived. In addition, there were limited choices for vegetarians and people with special dietary requirements. Several participants also felt that the food was rather bland and lacked freshness.

For future events, I suggest offering a wider range of freshly prepared dishes and providing vegetarian options. It would also be helpful to serve the food promptly and check its temperature before serving.

Yours faithfully,

Keith

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The response fully addresses all three bullet points required by the task. You clearly identify the positive aspects of the hotel, such as the meeting room and staff, explain the specific issues regarding the lunch service (late arrival, temperature, and lack of dietary options), and provide actionable suggestions for improvement. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter, and the purpose is clear from the outset. The ideas are well-developed and logically presented, meeting all the requirements of the prompt effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0

The letter is well-organized with a clear, logical progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task, which makes the information easy to follow. You use appropriate cohesive devices such as 'Overall,' 'However,' 'In addition,' and 'For future events' to link your sentences and paragraphs smoothly. The structure is professional, and the use of paragraphing is effective in separating the different points of the letter. The flow of information is natural and consistent throughout.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary appropriate for a formal business letter. Phrases like 'professional atmosphere,' 'special dietary requirements,' and 'served promptly' are used accurately and effectively. While the vocabulary is functional and precise, it remains relatively standard. To reach a higher band, you could incorporate slightly more sophisticated collocations or nuanced adjectives to describe the situation, though the current range is more than sufficient to convey your meaning clearly and professionally without any errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 8.0

Your grammar is highly accurate, with a variety of sentence structures used throughout the letter. You successfully employ complex sentences, such as 'They particularly appreciated the comfortable meeting room, which was spacious, well-equipped and suitable for our group.' Punctuation is used correctly, and there are no noticeable grammatical errors. The control over tense and subject-verb agreement is consistent, and the writing is error-free, which reflects a high level of grammatical competence.

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

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