Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-03

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 would like to get replacements of clothes that I bought from your online portal a month ago. i bought a blue shirt ( order number: 45637) to match my outfit for an important event, the material was not appealing, and it came in the wrong size.

I did bought it month ago because it was my first time buying it from an online portal, therfore, if anything happens i have time to replace it or buy it form store. I request you to help me in this situation, draw your attention and assist me to replace this item on urgent basis. looking forward to your replay and action.

Kind regards,

Sandra Hugo.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the task only partially. It touches upon all three required bullet points by mentioning the purchase details (a blue shirt, order number 45637), describing the problem (poor material and wrong size), and briefly touching upon the need for a replacement. However, the explanation regarding the urgency is underdeveloped and lacks persuasive context. Furthermore, the length requirement is not met, as the response falls significantly short of the minimum word count of 150 words. To improve, you must ensure you expand fully on every bullet point with relevant supporting details and write at least the minimum required length.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some basic organisation with an attempt at paragraphing, but overall progression is lacking. The letter opens with a formal salutation and closes with a sign-off, but the body of the text feels disjointed. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes inaccurate, such as the abrupt transitions between sentences like 'I did bought it month ago because it was my first time buying it from an online portal, therfore, if anything happens...'. Referencing is not always clear, and the flow between ideas is quite mechanical. To reach a higher band, you need to use a wider and more accurate range of cohesive devices to link your sentences and paragraphs smoothly, ensuring a logical and clear progression of ideas throughout the entire letter.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task. You attempt some task-specific phrases such as 'online portal' and 'order number', but there are noticeable errors in word choice, form, and spelling, such as 'therfore', 'replay', and 'form store' instead of 'from a store'. These errors highlight a restricted control over word formation and spelling, although they do not completely prevent the reader from understanding the main message. To improve your lexical resource, you should incorporate a wider variety of less common vocabulary and precise lexical items related to customer service and complaints, while carefully checking your spelling and word forms before finalising your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a limited range of grammatical structures. While there are a few simple sentences, your attempts at complex structures are often faulty, such as in the run-on sentence starting with 'I did bought it month ago...'. There are frequent errors in verb forms, tenses, and punctuation, including lowercase 'i', missing capitalization after periods, and the incorrect use of the auxiliary verb in 'I did bought'. These frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher score, you need to demonstrate a better mix of simple and complex sentence forms with significantly fewer errors, paying close attention to tense consistency, verb agreements, and basic sentence punctuation.

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

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