Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-19

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 hope this mail finds you in well! I am writing this letter to inform you that I have unsatisfied service from your hotel regarding food.

Last week I organized an office meeting in your hotel on october 10th 2026, on saturday at 10:00 AM. I felt pleasant with the seating and lighting arrangement. The ambiance was beatiful. The decoration of a room was in well-manner and I liked a projector set-up as well. My participates gave me feedback regarding food and service which was unsatisfied. It was not meet the hotel standrands. Some guest did not get starters and some find it was bit spicy and oily. There were some dishes who got awarded for city star dishes was not according to standrands as well and serving staff behaviour was not appropriate. I suggest you to talk to your chefs and staff to solve this issues as soon as possible.

Hoping for a prompt response regarding this matter from your side!

Yours faithfully,

Jay Patel

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three points: you describe the hotel’s seating, lighting, room decoration and projector, explain that some guests missed starters and found dishes too spicy or oily, and recommend speaking with the chefs and staff. These details make the complaint relevant and understandable. However, the positive feedback is more specific than the proposed improvements, which remain general: “solve this issues” does not explain what changes you expect, such as checking meal quantities or offering milder options. The concern about staff behaviour is also introduced without an example. Develop the requested future actions more fully and make the purpose of the letter clear from the opening to strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter follows a recognisable format, with a greeting, an opening, details about the meeting and a closing. The information is broadly ordered from the event to the feedback and recommendation. However, most of the content is placed in one long paragraph, so the positive comments, food complaints and suggested action are not clearly separated. Connections between points are also sometimes abrupt: the sentence about award-winning dishes and staff behaviour adds two new concerns without guiding the reader through them. Use separate paragraphs for the hotel’s strengths, the problems with lunch and your recommendations, and link these points with clear transitions such as “However” and “To prevent this in future.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for a hotel complaint, including “seating,” “lighting arrangement,” “ambiance,” “projector set-up,” and “spicy and oily.” These choices help convey the setting and the guests’ concerns. However, several inaccurate or unnatural expressions make the letter less clear, such as “unsatisfied service,” “my participates,” “city star dishes,” and “solve this issues.” Spelling errors, including “beatiful” and “standrands,” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise collocations and check spelling carefully; for example, describe the guests as “participants” and say that the food “did not meet the hotel’s standards.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, and the main message can generally be followed. However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction occur across the letter. For example, “I have unsatisfied service” does not form a correct clause, “It was not meet” uses an incorrect verb pattern, and “some find it was bit spicy” has tense and article problems. The phrase “There were some dishes who got awarded” also uses an unsuitable relative pronoun and an unclear structure. Practise building accurate sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check agreement and articles. More reliable control of these patterns would make your complaint easier to read.

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

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