Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-18
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 4.5)
It is often argued that higher education should be charged free to all the students. No doubt it would provide equal opportunities, and reduce financial pressure on the individuals, it would also put the government and taxpayers under pressure.
On the one hand, everyone has a right of education, and if it would be free, people from different financial backgrounds could be eligible to grab this opportunity. Hence, talented students who never get a chance to acquire university education because of their financial conditions, could brighten up their futures and contribute to the nation which reduces their financial pressure for applying for study loans or debts.
On the other hand, it would put pressure on the government and taxpayers because education institutes are running from government funding. Government provides different facilities to the universities such as funding for renovation, teachers' salaries and other resources which are required to run these academic institutes efficiently. Moreover, people who are able to pay their tuition fees, would also take the advantage of this which means everybody has to pay high tax to the government which will be unfair for the middle class families. Rather than providing education completely free, I would suggest providing scholarships to deserving students.
To conclude, I partly agree with the statement because it would provide benefits to the students by providing opportunity to learn which contributes to the nation in future, it is also a topic of concern for the government and public to raise funds to run the universities.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 1.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 1.0
The student has written a response about whether higher education should be free, which completely ignores the specific prompt instructions for General Training Writing Task 1. The prompt requires writing a complaint letter about unsatisfactory online clothing purchases, detailing the purchase, describing the problem, and explaining the need for an urgent replacement, beginning with 'Dear Sir or Madam.'. Because the student wrote an Academic Task 2 essay instead of the required letter format and topic, the task achievement criterion cannot be fulfilled for this prompt. The response addresses a completely different task type entirely, resulting in a minimal score.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
Despite being off-topic for the prompt, the text itself exhibits a clear paragraph structure with an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting opposing views, and a brief conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand,' 'On the other hand,' 'Moreover,' and 'To conclude' are used to signal logical progression and guide the reader through the argument. Paragraphing is managed adequately, and each paragraph has a central focus. However, referencing is occasionally imprecise, such as in the opening sentence where 'it' lacks a clear antecedent, and some transitions feel slightly mechanical.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for discussing a general topic. Phrases such as 'equal opportunities,' 'financial conditions,' 'academic institutes,' and 'tuition fees' show a satisfactory command of topic-related terminology. However, there are notable lexical errors and unnatural collocations, such as 'charged free' instead of 'provided free of charge,' and 'take the advantage' instead of 'take advantage.' While attempts are made to use less common vocabulary, inaccuracies in word choice prevent the score from reaching a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional-like clauses ('if it would be free') and relative clauses ('who never get a chance'). However, grammatical control is inconsistent. There are noticeable errors in verb tenses and modals, particularly 'should be charged free' and 'if it would be free.' Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors are present, they rarely impede the overall communication of the writer's arguments.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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