Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-22

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 this letter regarding an online purchase that I made recently from your store.

I placed an order for a pair of jeans in white colour online, I received my order this morning. When I opened it, the colour was black. I recently found a job in which white jeans is a requirement. I am starting this job from next week and I looked in every store, no one has it right now. I need a replacement urgently because its about my career in the company as well. The order number is [redacted phone] and I placed the order on sunday.

I hope you will take into consideration

thankyou

yours faithfully

sukh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student has attempted all parts of the task prompt by providing details of the purchase, describing the problem with the colour, and explaining the urgent need for a replacement. However, the response fails to meet the minimum word count of 150 words, containing only 121 words. As per the task requirements, this has resulted in a penalty for under-length. Additionally, some bullet points are slightly under-developed; for example, the explanation regarding the job requirement could have been expanded further to ensure full development of ideas. Consequently, this leads to a band score of 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter maintains a clear purpose and acceptable overall arrangement, beginning with an appropriate salutation and ending with a formal sign-off. However, the paragraphing is very weak, with almost the entire body of the letter clumped into a single block of text, which disrupts logical progression. Cohesive devices are basic and repetitive, such as 'I placed an order', 'I received', and 'I recently found'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the overall flow feels disjointed and mechanical rather than properly connected.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for a basic transactional letter, but the range is very limited. The student relies on simple, repetitive words and phrases such as 'online purchase', 'order', and 'replacement'. There are minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'in white colour' instead of 'in white', and punctuation/capitalisation errors like 'sunday'. While communication is not impeded, the lack of less common lexical items keeps the score at this level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student uses a mix of simple sentences and a few attempts at complex structures, such as 'I recently found a job in which white jeans is a requirement'. However, there are noticeable grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('white jeans is' instead of 'are') and comma splices ('I placed an order for a pair of jeans in white colour online, I received my order this morning'). Punctuation and capitalization are also inconsistent near the end of the letter.

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

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