Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-04

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You recently bought a jacket, but when you got home, you discovered it was
damaged. When you took it back to the store, you were told that merchandise
cannot be returned.

Write a letter to the store manager. In your letter:
• describe the problem with the jacket.
• explain what happened when you tried to return it.
• say what you would like the manager to do.

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 hope you are doing well. I am writing this letter to request for returning my jacket.

Firstly, i would like to explain that i brought jacket from yours shop I really like it. As, I was in hurry i didi not check it properly and when I came back to I find it was damaged and color was faded which looks so weird. Additionally, I came back to your shop they told me it will not be returned even I went there next day and they were talked so rudely, it was so disappointing for me as i visit your shop first time. I would like to kindly request you to reture my jacket as its so expensive as well as recommend to hire another staff in order to getting good reputation your shop in the market.

Thank you for your time and understanding. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best regards,

Manpreet Chopra

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task: describing the problem, explaining the return attempt, and stating your desired outcome. However, the development of these points is somewhat limited. For instance, the description of the damage is brief, and the explanation of the return process lacks detail regarding the specific store policy or the interaction with the staff. To reach a higher band, you should expand on these points with more specific details to provide a clearer picture for the manager. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter, though it could be more professional in its phrasing.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your points. You use some basic cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'Additionally', and 'Thank you'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the connection between ideas is occasionally abrupt. For example, the transition from describing the damage to the staff's behavior could be smoother. The use of referencing is generally clear, but the overall structure would benefit from a more sophisticated use of linking words to improve the logical progression of your argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, but it is somewhat limited and repetitive. You use basic terms like 'weird', 'bad', and 'good', which lack the precision required for a formal complaint. There are also some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'request for returning' instead of 'request a return' and 'getting good reputation' instead of 'improving the reputation'. To improve, focus on using more precise, formal vocabulary suitable for a business context, such as 'defective', 'unprofessional', or 'rectify'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including issues with verb tenses ('I brought jacket', 'they were talked'), sentence structure, and punctuation. The use of 'i' instead of the capitalized 'I' is a consistent error. While the meaning is generally clear, these errors are noticeable and detract from the professional quality of the letter. You rely mostly on simple sentence structures; incorporating more complex sentence forms, such as relative clauses or conditional sentences, would help demonstrate a wider grammatical range and improve the overall accuracy.

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

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