Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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)

Recently, I organised an all-day meeting for my company, which took place in a local hotel. In their feedback, the participants at the meeting said that they like hotel, but they were not happy about the food that they had for lunch.

Dear Sir or Madam,

My name is Alice Brown the administrative manager of Greenlife Organisations. I acted as the liason officer of an event "the youth must grow" held in your hotel on 25th September, 2026. This event hosted 500 participants.

I am writing to commend your for the cleanliness of the environment and well trained personnel.

The participants cannot stop talking about your hotel staff, from the receptionists to the manager. They keep reiterating how effective they are on their jobs.

However, they guests were very sad about the food that was served for lunch. The complained that the jollof rice which was served was too salty and peperish and depsite these, the food was not able to go round. About 200 participants left without food. My organisation paid full for lunch for 500 participants so this should not have happened at all. I would have taken up this matter to the management of my organisation but due to the long standing relationship between my organisation and your hotel, I decided to let this lie low.

In future transanctions, I suggest that you employ a well trained chef who will be able to ensure that the right quantity of food is prepared for the guests as well as ensure that reasonable proportion condiments are added to the food to avoid a repetition of this story.

Yours faithfully

Alice Brown

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The letter addresses all three required points: it praises the hotel’s cleanliness and staff, explains that the rice was too salty and that food ran out for about 200 guests, and recommends improving food preparation. These details make the complaint specific and relevant. The proposed remedy—employing a trained chef and controlling quantities and seasoning—is appropriate, although it could be developed further with practical steps such as confirming guest numbers and checking the menu before the event. The praise is also somewhat narrower than the task invites, focusing mainly on cleanliness and personnel. Overall, the purpose is clear, but some points are more fully explained than others.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable letter structure, with an introduction, praise, a complaint, a recommendation and a closing. Paragraphing helps separate these functions, and transitions such as “However” make the shift to the problem clear. However, progression is not consistently smooth: the opening repeats the task scenario before the formal greeting, and the long complaint paragraph combines the food’s quality, the shortage, payment and the relationship between the organisations. Some references are also unclear, as in “these” and “this story.” Organise the complaint around distinct points and use clearer links between them to make the sequence easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The letter uses some relevant vocabulary for a formal complaint, including “commend,” “participants,” “long-standing relationship” and “reasonable proportion.” However, several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, such as “liason,” “peperish,” “depsite” and “transanctions.” Some expressions are also unnatural or imprecise: “effective on their jobs,” “paid full for lunch” and “let this lie low.” Choose standard collocations and check spelling carefully; for example, “performed effectively in their roles,” “paid in full for lunch” and “decided not to escalate the matter” would communicate the intended meaning more naturally. The range is adequate for the task, but accuracy and idiomatic use need more consistent control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

There is an attempt to use both simple and more complex sentences, including the recommendation beginning “In future transactions” and the clause “who will be able to ensure.” The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors occur. For example, “My name is Alice Brown the administrative manager” needs punctuation or a linking verb, and “the guests were very sad” is missing the possessive form in the surrounding construction (“they guests”). “The complained” also lacks a clear subject, while “I would have taken up this matter to the management” has an awkward grammatical pattern. Use complete, carefully punctuated sentences and check articles, possessives and verb patterns to improve accuracy.

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

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