Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-20

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 or madam,

I hope you are in good health and spirits. I am writing this letter to let you know about my recent purchase from your store yesterday. It is black leather jacket. when I reached home then I again try the jacket in front of my mirrior and i saw a big hole on the arm of jacket. After seeing that hole i feel really upset and immedeatily I call your store but they mention that i had to email you about that beaciuse they csan not change or refund the amount without your permission.

I need the replacemnet on urgent basis because i bought this jacket for my special event.

I hope you will understand my problem and provide me solution as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully,

raman

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three required points: you identify a black leather jacket bought from the store, report a hole in its sleeve, and explain that you need a replacement for a special event. The purpose of the letter is clear, and the request for a solution is relevant. However, some details are under-developed: you do not give an order number, purchase date beyond “yesterday,” or event date, and you do not explicitly state what replacement you want or by when. The response is also 18 words below the required minimum, so there is limited space to explain the problem and urgency fully. Add these practical details and make the requested action explicit to address the task more completely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter follows a generally sensible order: purchase, discovery of the defect, contact with the store, and the reason for urgency. This makes the main message understandable. The sequence within the long sentence beginning “when I reached home” is less controlled, however, and several ideas are crowded together without clear sentence boundaries. The transition from the store’s instruction to your urgent need is also abrupt. Use separate paragraphs for the complaint and the urgency, and connect events with clear phrases such as “When I tried it on” and “As the event is approaching.” This would make the progression smoother and reduce the mechanical feel of the current linking.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough relevant vocabulary to communicate the basic complaint, including “purchase,” “hole,” “refund,” and “replacement.” However, the range is limited, and several spelling errors or imprecise expressions make the letter less polished: “mirrior,” “immedeatily,” “replacemnet,” and “provide me solution.” Some phrases are also unnatural for a formal complaint, such as “in good health and spirits” and “on urgent basis.” Choose accurate, conventional wording for customer-service correspondence and check spelling carefully. More precise terms for the defect and the action you want would help you express the complaint clearly and professionally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, for example, the sentence explaining that the store said you had to email the company. The main meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity and control. In “when I reached home then I again try,” the tense and clause structure are faulty; “When I got home, I tried the jacket on again” is clearer. There are also errors with articles and sentence boundaries, as in “It is black leather jacket. when I reached home,” and inconsistent capitalisation of “I.” Use past tense consistently for the events, punctuate each complete idea, and practise combining clauses accurately. These changes would make your message easier to read.

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

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