Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-14
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)
To,
The Manager
XYZ Company
Dear Sir,
Subject: Replacement of the outfit because I see there is a stain on the garment I brought.
I am writing to you about the stain on the dupatta that I purchased recently from your store.
I recently visited your store and bought a lehenga for the occasion of my sister's wedding ceremony. While purchase I did take a trial, but I did not try the dupatta. Now, I was packing my things to visit the makeup artist, and I could see the stain on the dupatta.
Kindly replace the stuff on an urgent basis as I am exclusively dependent on this outfit for my only sister's wedding.
I need to take a flight to Delhi as the ceremony is hosted over there. It's my humble request for you to do the replacement on priority without any delay. This is very terrible experience I had even after paying the full money without any discount.
Looking forward for your kind response.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You cover the main purpose of the letter: you identify the purchase as a lehenga and dupatta, explain that the dupatta has a stain, and request an urgent replacement because of your sister’s wedding and travel to Delhi. These details make the situation understandable. However, the purchase information is incomplete: there is no purchase date, order reference, or clear indication that it was bought online, and the requested action could be more specific about how and when the replacement should be arranged. The reason for urgency is relevant, but “exclusively dependent on this outfit” does not fully explain why a replacement is needed rather than another solution. Develop these points and state the remedy clearly.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The letter follows a generally sensible order: it introduces the complaint, describes how the stain was discovered, explains the urgency, and closes with a request. The wedding and flight details help connect the problem to the need for prompt action. However, the opening is cluttered by the address-style lines and subject heading, despite the task asking for a letter beginning with “Dear Sir or Madam,” and the body is presented as one continuous sequence rather than clearly separated paragraphs. Some links are also awkward, such as “Now, I was packing my things,” which makes the timeline less smooth. Use a clear opening, separate the purchase details from the request, and connect events with more natural transitions.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use relevant vocabulary for the situation, including “stain,” “dupatta,” “replacement,” “ceremony,” and “priority,” so the reader can understand the complaint. There are also attempts at formal language, such as “I am writing to you” and “Looking forward for your kind response.” However, several choices are unnatural or imprecise: “stuff” is too vague for the garment, “full money” is not idiomatic, and “This is very terrible experience” is awkward. “Brought” also appears where “bought” is intended. Aim for precise customer-service language and natural collocations, for example, “the item I purchased,” “the full price,” and “a very disappointing experience.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response includes both simple sentences and some longer structures, such as “While purchase I did take a trial, but I did not try the dupatta,” and the main message remains understandable. However, errors in sentence construction and grammatical forms are noticeable. For example, “While purchase” needs a grammatical time expression, and “This is very terrible experience I had” is missing an article and has an awkward tense structure. “Looking forward for your kind response” also uses an incorrect preposition after “looking forward.” The opening punctuation and sentence boundaries could be more controlled. Practise accurate clauses for describing events and requests, and check articles, prepositions, and tense consistency before submitting.
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