Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-29

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 am writing this letter to raise an issue which I faced after purchasing shirt from Zara's official website. Yesterday it was my brother's birthday and I ordered him a Brown Loose fit shirt from zara last week, and i gifted him that shirt on his birthday.

Since he was very delighted to have that shirt as a gift but after unpacking it he found it torned and threads were coming out of that shirt. Since, it was not my mistake, he did'nt say anything to me, but that was a shameful moment for me. Moreover, shirt had missing buttons as well and it was looking like a used one.

As, I regularly shop from Zara, but never had this type of experience with zara before. I have applied for replacement, hopefully I would not get any defective piece this time.

I will love to hear from you back.

With regards,

Anmol Dadwal

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You cover the purchase and the defect clearly: the shirt was ordered from Zara’s website the previous week, given as a birthday present, and found torn, with loose threads and missing buttons. However, the task is only partly addressed because the urgent need for a replacement is not explained. The birthday context shows why the defect was embarrassing, but it does not establish why a replacement is needed urgently now. You also say you have already applied for a replacement, without making a clear request to the company or specifying a timeframe. To strengthen the letter, state directly what action you want and explain a concrete reason the replacement must arrive soon.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a coherent overall arrangement: it introduces the purchase, describes the defects, and then gives background about your experience with Zara and the replacement request. Paragraphing helps separate these points, and connectors such as “Moreover” and “Since” show attempts to link ideas. Some links are faulty or repetitive, though. “Since he was very delighted … but after unpacking” combines contrasting ideas awkwardly, while “As, I regularly shop from Zara, but…” does not form a clear sentence. The final request is also not developed into a clear next step. Use simpler, more direct transitions and make the sequence explicit: purchase, defects, urgency, and requested action.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main problem, including “torn,” “threads were coming out,” “missing buttons,” and “defective piece.” These details make the complaint understandable. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “raise an issue which I faced,” “torned,” and “hear from you back.” The repeated use of “shirt” and “Zara” also limits variety, and “shameful moment” does not quite express the embarrassment intended in this context. Aim for precise customer-service language and natural collocations, such as describing the item as damaged on arrival and requesting a prompt replacement. Check spelling and word forms before sending.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, and the reader can generally follow the account. However, some sentence structures and punctuation are faulty. For example, “Since he was very delighted … but after unpacking it he found it torned” is an incomplete or awkwardly joined construction, and “As, I regularly shop from Zara, but never had…” lacks a complete grammatical structure. There are also errors in articles and tense, as in “purchasing shirt” and “I ordered … and i gifted him.” Capitalisation of “I” is inconsistent. Use complete sentences, avoid combining “since/as” with “but” in this way, and check articles, verb forms, and punctuation.

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