Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-27

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,

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction regarding the recent purchase from your shop.

I ordered a pair of formal jeans and black leather shoes for an important event. The product number was 31456 and was shipped a week ago.

However, the design and quality of the jeans was quite different from what was advertised. Moreover, the pair of shoes was missing.

I would appreciate it if you urgently replace my order with new pair of pants and shoes . I need these as soon as possible because I have to attend

an important family event.

Thank youvfor your time. I look forward to your response.

Yours faihfully,

Taranvir Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The candidate has attempted all parts of the letter prompt, including providing details of the purchase (order number 31456), describing the problem (poor design/quality of jeans and missing shoes), and explaining the urgency (an upcoming important family event). However, the word count is 112 words, which falls well short of the mandatory 150-word minimum specified for Task 1. Because of this length deficiency, the development of ideas is limited and the task is only partially fulfilled in terms of depth. Consequently, Task Achievement is penalised for length.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear chronological flow from introduction to problem description, action required, and sign-off. Paragraphing is appropriately used to separate different ideas, such as the purchase details and the specific issues encountered. However, cohesive devices are somewhat basic and limited in variety. The transition between sentences relies on simple conjunctions and reference words like 'Moreover', which are adequate but simple. Overall, the organization is logical, supporting the communication of the writer's message effectively despite the short text length.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying the intended meaning with terms like 'dissatisfaction', 'formal jeans', and 'leather shoes'. There are attempts at less common lexical items, although some awkward collocations appear, such as 'formal jeans' or 'new pair of pants and shoes' when referring back to the previously mentioned items. A noticeable typographical error occurs in the closing ('Thank youvfor your time'). Overall, the vocabulary provides a minimally adequate range for the reader to understand the complaints without significant confusion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'I would appreciate it if you urgently replace my order...' and 'I need these as soon as possible because I have to attend an important family event.' There is a subject-verb agreement error in the third paragraph ('the design and quality of the jeans was'), where 'were' is required. Punctuation has a minor spacing error before the closing punctuation in the penultimate paragraph. Despite these errors, the grammar does not impede communication, and the sentence structures are generally controlled.

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

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