Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-07

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,

I am writing this letter in responce to give feedback on your luch which you served during the meeting.

We joined your hotel to attend a meeting. Meeing gone beneficial and participants liked your hotel. They loved your corridor and entrance place. The hotel look like shahi palace. Meetig room was also convenient and luxury.

Although everything in hotel was gorgeous but I have complaint about your food which you served us. Firstly the food is cold. Secondly food had alot of spices which was not easy to eat. I Feel embrace when other participants did not eat the lunch.

I request you to hired a high trained staff which improve your food quality and it fulfill the requirements of your hotel. Nowadays master chefs are easily available and they had alot of courses and trainings.

I Hope you will take notice about my complaint and will appoint a better staff.

Yours faithfully

Yours faithfully

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three points in the task: you mention the attractive entrance and corridor and the convenient meeting room, explain that the lunch was cold and too spicy, and recommend hiring better-trained staff. The purpose of the letter is clear and the complaints are relevant. However, some points are less fully developed than others. For example, “I feel embrace” does not clearly explain the effect of the food on you, and the suggestion focuses mainly on staff rather than practical changes such as checking serving temperatures or offering milder options. A more precise explanation of what participants liked, and a more specific improvement plan, would make the response more complete and persuasive.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable structure, moving from its purpose to positive feedback, the complaint, and a recommendation. The sequence is generally easy to follow, and “Firstly” and “Secondly” help organise the reasons for dissatisfaction. However, some linking is mechanical, and the contrast introduced by “Although” is not smoothly completed: “Although everything in hotel was gorgeous but…” combines two contrasting forms. The repeated closing, “Yours faithfully,” also disrupts the ending. Use clearer paragraph breaks for each main purpose and connect ideas more naturally—for example, explain the cold food and excessive spices in one concise complaint paragraph before moving to specific recommendations.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for a formal complaint, including “participants,” “convenient,” “luxury,” and “food quality,” and the reader can understand the main message. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which makes parts of the letter unclear. “I feel embrace” does not convey the intended feeling, while “hired a high trained staff” and “take notice about my complaint” are not natural expressions. There are also spelling errors such as “responce,” “luch,” and “Meetig.” Aim to learn common formal-letter phrases and check spelling and word forms carefully; more precise vocabulary would make your complaint sound clearer and more professional.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple sentences and more complex forms, such as “Although everything in hotel was gorgeous…” and “I request you to…,” so there is some variety. The main ideas remain understandable, but errors in articles, verb forms, agreement, and sentence construction recur. For example, “Meeting gone beneficial” needs a finite verb, and “The hotel look” should agree with its singular subject. The sentence beginning “Although” also incorrectly adds “but,” and “I request you to hired” uses the wrong verb form after “to.” Review basic sentence patterns, articles, and verb agreement, then proofread each sentence to ensure it has a clear subject and correctly formed verb.

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

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