Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I would like to express my concern about the feedback of my guests at your hotel last week. They loved the hotel ambiance but very disappointed about the food.

All the guests loved the hotel’s peaceful and calming environment , especially the meeting hall was amazingly decorated with various kind of art. Besides that everyone admire the paintings, sculpture art and traditional wall clock.

Unfortunately, they were very disappointed about your Chinese cuisine. The food was very cold and tasteless, in addition the quantity was very less and mint margarita was very sugary.

I would like you to suggest to balanced all the spices and herbs according to your guests taste. It would be a great idea to introduced any other cusine.

Hope

Yours faithfully ,

Nida

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points: the positive aspects of the hotel, the complaints regarding the food, and suggestions for improvement. However, the response is significantly under the 150-word minimum requirement, which limits the development of ideas. While the purpose of the letter is clear, the brevity prevents a more professional and detailed tone. To improve, you should expand on your suggestions and provide more context for the meeting to ensure the letter meets the length requirement and demonstrates a more comprehensive response to the task instructions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure of your complaint. You use some basic cohesive devices like 'Besides that' and 'Unfortunately' to transition between ideas. However, the flow is somewhat mechanical, and the connection between sentences could be smoother. The closing is abrupt and incomplete ('Hope'), which negatively impacts the overall coherence of the letter. Using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring a complete, formal sign-off would significantly improve the flow and professional appearance of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, such as 'ambiance', 'sculpture', and 'tasteless'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'quantity was very less' (should be 'the portion sizes were small') and 'introduced any other cusine' (should be 'introduce other cuisines'). Additionally, there are minor spelling errors like 'cusine'. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and ensuring that your vocabulary is used in a natural, idiomatic way appropriate for a formal business letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The letter contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex structures. There are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'very disappointed' (missing the verb 'were'), 'especially the meeting hall was' (should be 'especially as the meeting hall was'), and 'I would like you to suggest to balanced' (should be 'I suggest you balance'). These errors are frequent but do not generally impede communication. To improve, pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement and the correct use of passive voice and infinitive structures in formal writing.

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

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