Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-12
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 5.0)
Dear sir ,
I hope you are doing well . i am writing a letter about bought a pant shirt from your online website . i spend 100$ on the pant shirt . your clothing website were depicts of good quality of pant shirt . I did trust on the shopping website and did the order . Yesterday night , I got my order and condition of pant shirt is very bad and I am dissatisfied with my order . It is my humble request please give me replacd new order with this order as soon as possible because after one week , my brother marrige is coming . I hope you will take the action for my order to resend the new order . i reccomend to you please contact with your supplier for this complaint .
Your respectfully ,
Gurinder Singh
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response covers all three bullet points from the prompt: it gives details of the purchase (spending $100 on a pant shirt from an online website), describes the problem (the condition of the item upon arrival was very bad and disappointing), and explains the urgency of a replacement (the writer's brother's wedding is in one week). However, the response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, coming in at 143 words. This under-length impacts the full development of ideas, keeping the task achievement score at Band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The letter lacks proper paragraphing, as nearly all sentences are clumped together into a single block of text rather than being organized into logical paragraphs (e.g., separating the purchase details, the problem, and the request). While there is a basic chronological sequence, cohesive devices are extremely limited and repetitive, with over-reliance on simple connectors. This results in an uneven flow, aligning with the Band 5 descriptor where organisation is basic and progression is unclear.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, such as 'pant shirt', 'good quality', and 'bad'. There are noticeable word choice and collocation issues, for instance, writing 'bought a pant shirt' instead of 'purchased a shirt and trousers' or a specific garment, and using 'depicts of good quality' rather than 'depicted as being of good quality'. The range is minimally adequate for the task, meaning it fits Band 5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts some complex structures (e.g., 'because after one week, my brother marrige is coming'), but these are frequently faulty. There are multiple grammatical errors throughout the text, including tense issues ('did trust on' instead of 'trusted'), preposition misuse ('depicts of' instead of 'showed'), spelling mistakes ('marrige', 'reccomend'), and missing articles. These frequent errors cause some difficulty and distraction for the reader, placing this performance at Band 5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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