Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-15

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 hope you are doing well.

My name is Tim watson and yesterday there was an all-day party at your hotel. Actually it was an annual success party that we usually conduct at the end of the year. I am writing this letter to inform you that my team really loved the services available at your hotel. The most impressing one was the swimming pool and the bar near to it. Everyone in my team enjoyed it.

There are few things that I wanted to bring to your attention that the food that served in our room was not good. Some of my co-workers noticed that the meat served at the hotel for dinner was uncooked. I am really ashamed about this because I am the one who is hosted the party and I responsible for the inconvenience they have faced.

I have a few suggestions that your team can adopt so this will improve service at your hotel. It will be really good to check on every plate you serve and If you notice any problems you can change the chef.

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The letter addresses the main situation and identifies a positive feature—the swimming pool and nearby bar—as well as a complaint about undercooked meat. However, it does not fully match the task: the event is described as a “party” rather than an all-day company meeting, and the complaint is framed around dinner served “in our room,” not clearly the meeting lunch. The explanation is also narrow, with no detail about how the food affected participants beyond their noticing it was uncooked. The proposed checks are relevant, but “change the chef” is abrupt and does not explain a practical improvement. To develop the response, describe the lunch problem more precisely and suggest specific steps such as checking cooking temperatures or offering alternative meals.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a generally clear sequence: it opens with the purpose, describes what the team liked, raises the food complaint, and ends with suggestions and a polite closing. Paragraphing helps separate these points, and phrases such as “I am writing this letter” and “I am looking forward to hearing from you” make the format recognisable. Some connections are less smooth, however. “There are few things that I wanted to bring to your attention that the food…” combines the transition and complaint awkwardly, while “so this will improve service” does not clearly link the suggestions to their intended result. Use clearer transitions and refer consistently to the meeting and its participants to make the progression more precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for communicating the basic message, with relevant terms such as “participants,” “services,” “inconvenience,” and “suggestions.” There are also attempts at more specific description, including “uncooked” meat and the “swimming pool and the bar.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for this context: “all-day party” does not convey a company meeting, “annual success party” is unclear, and “the most impressing one” is not a natural way to describe a hotel feature. “Change the chef” is also an overly blunt and limited recommendation. Choose precise, conventional expressions for the event and food service, and use more tactful language when proposing improvements.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response includes a mix of short sentences and longer structures, and the main message remains understandable. Some sentence patterns are handled successfully, such as “Everyone in my team enjoyed it” and “I am looking forward to hearing from you.” There are nevertheless several errors in verb forms, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “the food that served” needs a passive verb form, “I am the one who is hosted the party” has an incorrect verb construction, and “I responsible” is missing a verb. The opening also shifts between past and present without a clear reason. Review passive forms and past-tense clauses, and proofread each sentence for a complete subject–verb structure.

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