Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-26

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)

Dear Sir or Madam,

My name is Neel Mehta and i am regular customer of your store. i am writing this letter because i had issue regarding recent clothing purchase.

Exactly one week ago on Thursday i purchased blue shirt from your store and sales person told me that this is new arrival and it is best quality i will ever get. He also mentioned that it does not get faded even if i wash it every day. But when i washed it for the first tome the blue shirt become white. I instantly reached out to you customer support and they told me they will replace my shirt and also give store credit. However non of the thing happened since that conversation. I am very disappointed with you clothing and your services.

I hope this letter finds you well and resolve my problem as soon as possible.

Thank you,

Neel Mehta

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all three bullet points: providing purchase details, describing the problem with the shirt, and mentioning the need for a resolution. However, the third requirement—explaining why a replacement is needed urgently—is not fully developed. The student mentions needing a resolution but fails to provide a specific reason for the urgency, such as an upcoming event or a professional requirement. While the tone is appropriate for a formal letter, the development of ideas is somewhat thin, which limits the score. To improve, the student should expand on the impact of the faulty product to better justify the request for an urgent replacement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical structure with a clear opening and closing. Paragraphing is used, though the body paragraphs are somewhat disjointed. Cohesive devices are present but basic (e.g., 'However', 'But', 'And'). The flow between the description of the problem and the failed customer service interaction is a bit abrupt. To reach a higher band, the student should use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that each paragraph transitions smoothly into the next, creating a more cohesive narrative rather than a list of events.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. Phrases like 'had issue' and 'non of the thing happened' are imprecise and slightly unnatural. The student relies on simple, repetitive language. There is an attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary, such as 'customer support' and 'store credit', which is positive. To improve, the student should focus on using more sophisticated collocations and avoiding informal phrasing. Expanding the range of adjectives and verbs used to describe the product and the situation would significantly enhance the quality of the writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. There are frequent issues with articles (e.g., 'i am regular customer', 'i purchased blue shirt'), subject-verb agreement, and capitalization of the pronoun 'I'. While the meaning is generally clear, these errors are persistent. The sentence structures are mostly simple, with limited attempts at complex sentences. To improve, the student needs to focus on basic grammatical accuracy, particularly the use of articles and consistent capitalization, and practice incorporating more complex sentence structures to demonstrate a wider range of grammatical control.

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

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