Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-25

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,

6 jun 2026 i booking a blazer with advance dalivary charge.i receive this parcel today 9 jun 2026. i think this blazer cloth puality is very cheap.this blazer has no softness.and ita colour is to much bright.its safe is not perfect for me.but when their showing this blazer in live,its looking perfect.when i am look this blazer it is a far distance.

so, i want to replacement this product as soon as Possible because i already pay delivery charg.i want this blazer, they are showing in the live.please change the cloth cause it is very important for mebecause i wear this blazer in a program.so consider me.

i am waiting for this replacement parcel.

yours sincere clint.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student covers all three bullet points from the prompt: giving purchase details, describing the problem with the blazer, and explaining why a replacement is needed urgently for a program. However, the response falls significantly short of the required 150-word minimum, containing only 119 words. This under-length impacts the full development of ideas. While the purpose of the letter is clear, the lack of sufficient length prevents a higher band score. Based on the positive descriptors, the response covers the core requirements partially to adequately, earning a band score of 5.0 due to the word count penalty.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The letter lacks proper paragraphing, with most of the text clumped together into one large, difficult-to-read block. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes repetitive or misused, such as the frequent transitions like 'so' and 'when'. While there is a basic chronological sequence from purchase to problem to request, the organisation is faulty and lacks clear logical progression throughout. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as pronoun usage referring to the clothing. These features align closely with Band 5, where information lacks clear overall progression and cohesive devices are inadequate.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, featuring frequent errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'dalivary' instead of delivery, 'puality' for quality, and 'safe' instead of shape. Phrases like 'cloth puality is very cheap' and 'ita colour is to much bright' demonstrate a limited range that is barely adequate for the task. Less common lexical items are attempted but unsuccessfully, and word choice errors occasionally strain the reader's understanding. This performance reflects the criteria for Band 4.5 to 5.0, settling safely at a band 5.0 for minimally adequate vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student relies on simple sentence structures, and attempts at complex structures are frequently faulty, such as in the sentence 'when they showing this blazer in live,its looking perfect.' There are pervasive errors in tense usage ('i booking', 'i already pay'), punctuation, and capitalization throughout the text. These frequent grammatical errors cause some difficulty for the reader and impede smooth reading, though the general meaning remains partially decipherable. This falls squarely within the Band 5 descriptor for frequent errors and a limited range of structures.

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

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