Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to complaint about some recently online ordered clothes from your website amzone such as hoddie large size and blue shirt of tommy in large but i got wrong sizes, both are meduim sizes i recived as i order the large sizes. I would appreciate your assistance to solving this matter.

To begin with, I order on thursday eveing order id is [redacted phone], I orderd large size hoddie of H/M and Bule shirt of tommy in large but i dont know there is isuee while packing my order or what..?

Furthermore, The Problem its not fiting me as they are both one size small which is so Tight while i try to get fit and i need it because i have one party and and my cousin birthday is aslo coming on this friday.

Finally, I would be grateful if you could deliverd this both items before friday so i can enjoy both events.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Prabh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all three bullet points required in the task instructions. You successfully gave details of the purchase, such as the order ID '227693', the date, and the specific items ('large size hoddie of H/M and Bule shirt of tommy'). You described the problem clearly by stating that you received medium sizes instead of large ones and that they were too tight. Finally, you explained why you needed a replacement urgently, mentioning that you have an upcoming party and your cousin's birthday this Friday. The tone is appropriately formal for a complaint letter, although some ideas are slightly repetitive. Overall, all parts of the task are addressed adequately, leading to a solid task response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter follows a logical paragraph structure with a standard greeting and sign-off. You attempted to use cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'Finally' to sequence your ideas. However, the progression within sentences is sometimes hindered by run-on structures and missing punctuation. For instance, the opening paragraph crams multiple ideas together without adequate breaks ('I am writing to complaint... amzone such as hoddie large size...'). Paragraphing is present and helps divide the introduction, details, problem, and conclusion, but referencing and logical flow are occasionally faulty, placing this response firmly in the band 5.5 to 6.0 range.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating your purchase details and specific clothing items. However, there are numerous spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'complaint' instead of 'complain', 'amzone' instead of 'Amazon', 'hoddie' instead of 'hoodie', 'meduim' instead of 'medium', 'recived' instead of 'received', 'eveing' instead of 'evening', 'isuee' instead of 'issue', 'fiting' instead of 'fitting', and 'deliverd' instead of 'delivered'. While these errors do not completely impede communication because the context is clear, their high frequency prevents you from achieving a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical accuracy is quite weak. There are frequent errors in verb tenses, article usage, and sentence structure, such as 'recently online ordered clothes', 'I order on thursday eveing order id is...', and 'The Problem its not fiting me'. Run-on sentences are common, particularly in the first and second paragraphs where multiple independent clauses are joined by commas without appropriate conjunctions. Punctuation needs significant improvement, especially regarding capitalisation ('amzone', 'tommy', 'H/M', 'bule') and end-stops. These frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect band 5.0 descriptors.

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

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