Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-11

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 6.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

Thank you for arranging everything in less than two days. Well, I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the foods arrangements made at this event.

I recently booked your hotel for team stay and all day orientation meeting on 10th of September. The overnight stay was extremely comfortable, with maintaining cleanliness and housekeeping services. Our team appreciated how convenient it was for them to travel to this location.

However, they seem to be upset about the food arrangements made by your staff. We briefly mentioned the whole menu including the allergy ingredient list given by our team members. Though, less attention was paid during serving the food. Many of our members noticed, the food was stale and was smelling awful.

I would appreciate if you could take strict actions against the food policies for any upcoming events arranged at your hotel. Considering any allergy components and making sure the lunch is freshly cooked. I would also suggest following the menu list provided by our event coordinator.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly mention the positive aspects of the hotel, explain the issues with the food, and provide constructive suggestions for improvement. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter of complaint. The ideas are well-developed and relevant to the context of an all-day meeting. To reach a higher band, ensure that the connection between the allergy list and the specific failure is more explicitly linked, as the current explanation is slightly vague regarding how the staff ignored the provided information.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a formal closing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use some cohesive devices such as 'However' and 'Though' to link ideas. However, the transition between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother. Some sentences feel slightly disjointed, and the use of cohesive devices is sometimes a bit mechanical. Improving the variety of linking words would enhance the flow of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'dissatisfaction', 'orientation meeting', and 'housekeeping services'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'foods arrangements' (should be 'food arrangements') and 'take strict actions against the food policies' (which sounds slightly unnatural; 'review your food service policies' would be better). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the precision and sophistication required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'with maintaining cleanliness' (should be 'and maintained cleanliness' or 'for its cleanliness') and 'less attention was paid during serving the food' (should be 'during the serving of the food'). Additionally, the sentence 'Many of our members noticed, the food was stale and was smelling awful' contains a comma splice and slightly awkward phrasing. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score.

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

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