Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-11-03

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 writting to give you feedback about my recent reservation which happen on 15 th september at your hotel with my staff.

overall, the atmosphere of your hotel was good and everything was well organised . additionally your staff members were respectfull with me and my team which i truly admire. Moreover the hardwork of your team leader was really apprecialble in the way he was assiting his employee was like a true leader.

However the main thing from which we got disappointed is the food quality .In the general , The food was little spicy and lack in flavour moving further the menu is limited to some particular type of dishes.

At the end , i assume that you will take some serious steps regarding the points that i highlighted to you and i am confident your staff and your hotel reputation will eventually rise.

Thank you for your good service.

your sicerely

bajwa

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You address the hotel’s positive features and explain the lunch complaint, so the letter is relevant to the situation. The comments that the atmosphere was good, the event was well organised, and staff were respectful give the manager some useful feedback. However, the food explanation is brief and partly unclear: “little spicy and lack in flavour” does not explain precisely what was wrong, and the limited menu is mentioned without detail. Most importantly, you do not give a specific suggestion for improving future meals; asking the manager to take “some serious steps” is too general to fulfil that bullet point. Develop the complaint and recommend practical actions, such as offering a wider menu or asking organisers about dietary preferences in advance.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The ideas follow a generally understandable order: you begin with the purpose of the letter, describe positive aspects, introduce the food problem, and close with a request for action. Connectors such as “Additionally,” “Moreover,” and “However” help signal these shifts. The overall progression is clear, although the letter would be easier to scan if the positive feedback, food concerns, and recommendations were separated into distinct paragraphs. Some linking phrases feel mechanical or do not fit their function, particularly “In the general” and “At the end.” The final paragraph also combines a vague request with a prediction about the hotel’s reputation. Use simpler, more precise transitions and make the recommendation a clear, separate step in the progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of vocabulary for a formal complaint, including “atmosphere,” “well organised,” “disappointed,” “food quality,” and “limited.” These choices make the main message understandable, and phrases such as “staff members were respectful” suit the context. However, several spelling and word-choice errors reduce accuracy, including “writting,” “respectfull,” “apprecialble,” and “sicerely.” Some expressions are also unnatural or imprecise: “the hardwork of your team leader” and “assiting his employee” do not clearly describe what the leader did, while “the food was little spicy and lack in flavour” is awkward. Check spelling carefully and choose precise collocations to explain the food and service.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, for example, the sentence beginning “Moreover” and the contrast introduced by “However.” The main points can generally be understood, but errors in verb forms, articles, agreement, and sentence construction are frequent enough to affect fluency. For instance, “reservation which happen” needs a past-tense verb and a clearer relative clause, while “the food was little spicy and lack in flavour” has an incomplete comparison and an incorrect verb form. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, with missing spaces after full stops and unnecessary spaces before them. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and build shorter, complete sentences before adding subordinate clauses.

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