Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-04

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/Madam,

I am writing this letter to inform you about the recent purchase that, I have made through your website last week.

Firstly,On 27th oct, I have ordered a jacket from your online store.Furthermore,when i opened the parcel, i was shocked to see that, jacket was totally damged from inside.This jacket comes from know brand zara that, cost me $1200 with delievry charges.

On the top of that, its has many wear and tear which totally ended my excitement about the product.I could not believed on my eyes after i opened the parcel.

Laslty, i would like to request you a possible exchange or return. I believe that this could be the easy soution for this issue.As your company has a commitment towards customer satisfsction and has good reveiw, have made me to buy jacket from your site.

I look forward to hearing back from you soon.An open line of communication would be helpful to this matter.

Best Regards,

Deepak sharma

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You explain the purchase and the main problem: you ordered a Zara jacket on 27 October for $1,200, and it was damaged inside with signs of wear. You also request an exchange or return. However, the task asks you to explain why a replacement is urgent, and this is not addressed; the request for a “possible exchange or return” does not give a reason or deadline. Some purchase details are also unclear, such as the year and whether the price includes delivery. To strengthen the letter, state the urgency directly—for example, that you need the jacket for an upcoming event—and specify the remedy you want and when you need it.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable sequence: you introduce the complaint, describe the purchase and damage, then request a remedy and close politely. This makes the overall arrangement coherent. However, the progression is sometimes mechanical because several points begin with “Firstly,” “Furthermore,” “On the top of that,” and “Lastly,” even when a simpler transition or a new paragraph would work better. Some links are also unclear: “This jacket comes from know brand zara that, cost me…” combines brand and price information awkwardly, while the final sentence about communication does not clearly connect to the requested exchange. Group the purchase details, problem, and urgent request into separate paragraphs and make each transition express the relationship between ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough complaint-related vocabulary to communicate the situation, including “purchase,” “parcel,” “damaged,” “exchange,” and “return.” There are also attempts at more formal expressions such as “customer satisfaction” and “open line of communication.” However, spelling errors and imprecise or unnatural word choices are noticeable, including “damged,” “delievry,” “soution,” and “good reveiw.” Phrases such as “many wear and tear” and “ended my excitement” are not natural in this context and may make the reader pause. Check spelling carefully and choose precise collocations, such as “visible signs of wear” and “disappointed with the condition of the jacket.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, and the main message is generally understandable. However, errors in sentence structure and verb forms are frequent enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. For example, “the recent purchase that, I have made” has unnecessary punctuation and an awkward relative clause; “I could not believed” uses the wrong verb form; and “has made me to buy” is not correctly constructed. Articles and agreement also need attention, as in “jacket was totally” and “its has.” Use a clear pattern such as “I ordered a jacket, but it arrived damaged,” and check subject–verb agreement, articles, and past-tense forms when describing what happened.

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