Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-04

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You have bought some clothing online and are not satisfied with your purchase.

Write a letter to the company that you bought the clothing from. In your email:

• give details of the purchase
• describe the problem
• explain why you need a replacement urgently

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Subject- Not satisfied from online clothing

Dear Sir/Madam,

I hope you are doing well,

I am writing to complain about some online purchase, which is not well from my expectations. The dress which I purchased it from Zara website on last 12th July. Also, it is a very popular brand. Moreover, the size of this dress is too loose and it's material quality is poor according to the price. I ordered this dress for my 18th birthday.

In addition, I am organizing a party on 15th July. However, I am not satisfied from my dress. There color is purple, but I chose red.

Please give my few instructions for return as soon as possible because I need to wear this dress on my celebration time. I believe that you will understand my situation. I always trusted the quality of your products.

Thank you for your cooperation and I look forward to your response.

Yours faithfully,

Komalpreet

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task: providing purchase details, describing the problems (size, quality, and color), and explaining the urgency of the replacement. However, the development of these points is somewhat limited. For example, the explanation of the color discrepancy is brief and lacks clarity. To improve, ensure that each point is fully expanded with more descriptive language. While the tone is generally appropriate for a formal complaint, the structure could be more professional to better convey your dissatisfaction to the company.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter follows a logical progression, moving from the introduction of the issue to the specific problems and finally the requested action. You have used some cohesive devices like 'Moreover', 'In addition', and 'However'. However, the paragraphing is not fully developed; the entire body of the letter is somewhat clumped together. Using clearer paragraph breaks between the introduction, the description of the problems, and the call to action would improve the overall flow and readability of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your needs clearly. You use some relevant terms such as 'purchase', 'quality', and 'cooperation'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'not well from my expectations' (should be 'did not meet my expectations') and 'not satisfied from my dress' (should be 'satisfied with'). To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise vocabulary related to retail and customer service complaints.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'which I purchased it' (the 'it' is redundant), 'there color is purple' (should be 'the color'), and 'give my few instructions' (should be 'give me'). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they are frequent enough to impact the overall accuracy of your writing. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct pronoun usage will help improve your score.

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

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