Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-24

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 to you about hotel. Recently, I organised meeting for your company in your hotel.

Firstly, the participants liked chairs, table and rooms. They felt comfortable in the hotel. Air conditioner was available there. Hotel garden was also very beautiful. There were many flowers in the hotel courtyard. There were also greenery grass. Furthermore, hotel building was also better. Some participants took picture of your hotel building.

Secondly, In your hotel waiter served biryani, mutton karahi, Therefore they were not unsatisfied. The food was cold and no delicious. When they gave food they have not gave drinks with food. But food was soo expensive. They gave dirty dishes. Water were also warm and dirty.

Finally, you should improve the food in your future. When you make a delicious food and served a good way then more customers come to their restaurant.On other hand you keep better chef for cooking. Because good chef is very important in your restaurant.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the three requested points: you mention the comfortable rooms, furniture, air conditioning and garden; describe problems with the lunch; and recommend improving preparation and hiring a better chef. The complaints are relevant, especially that the food was cold, costly and served with dirty dishes and warm, dirty water. However, the explanation is not always clear: “Therefore they were not unsatisfied” contradicts the complaint that follows, and the list of dishes does not explain what was wrong with them. Your suggestions are also quite general and could be more specific, such as checking food temperature and cleanliness or asking about dietary preferences. A clearer, consistently formal letter would make the purpose and recommendations more effective.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall structure, with separate sections introduced by “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “Finally,” so the reader can identify the positive feedback, complaints and recommendations. This is a useful starting point. However, the progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, and the linking words do not always express the intended relationship: “Therefore” introduces a complaint, while “On other hand” does not clearly connect the recommendation to the previous sentence. Several details are presented as a list rather than grouped into a clear explanation. Improve cohesion by using accurate transitions and arranging related points together—for example, explain the food’s temperature, taste and service in sequence, then give practical solutions. Add appropriate paragraph breaks and avoid abrupt sentence connections.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough basic vocabulary to communicate the main points, including “comfortable,” “beautiful,” “expensive,” and “dirty.” Some specific details, such as the garden, courtyard and dishes, help make the letter relevant. However, the range is limited and several word choices or combinations are unnatural or unclear, including “no delicious,” “greenery grass,” “took picture,” and “served a good way.” “They were not unsatisfied” also expresses the opposite of the intended meaning. These errors sometimes make the reader pause to interpret your message. Build a more precise set of phrases for hotel feedback, such as describing food as “bland” or “poorly presented,” and use natural collocations such as “take photographs” and “serve the meal promptly.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

Most sentences use simple structures, and the reader can generally follow the main message. You also attempt longer sentences, for example, “When you make a delicious food and served a good way then more customers come,” but the verb forms and sentence structure are not controlled. Errors occur frequently with articles, agreement and verb forms: “I organised meeting,” “Water were,” and “they have not gave” need grammatical correction. There are also problems with sentence boundaries and punctuation, such as the run-on connection before “On other hand.” Practise accurate simple sentences first, then combine ideas using clauses with consistent tense and subject–verb agreement. For example, “The food was cold, and the dishes were not clean” would express one complaint clearly.

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