Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-25

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 5.0)

Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to inform you about my recent purchase from your store . On my recent visit to the store there was a huge collection of jackets over there so i decided to buy one which looks fabulous on me. after that i got home back and seen my denim again there was big hole in bottom side of jacket which was unnoticed by me while purchasing so i decided to get back to the store to return jacket.

while entering the store again i directly to to customer service center and then tell about my problem i have just buy this denim like 3 hours ago and i didn't see there was hole in jacket so i would like to return jacket and get new one but they refuse to take they said we don't have returned policy .

At the moment i was get angry i was trying to explain my situation

but they were just denying it so i just left the store. so i decided to reach to store manager directly i would appreciate you if look into this matter.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the task: describing the damage, explaining the return attempt, and stating your desired outcome. However, the development of these points is somewhat limited. The tone is inconsistent for a formal letter, shifting between narrative and complaint. To improve, ensure you maintain a professional tone throughout and provide more specific details, such as the date of purchase or the receipt number, to make the request more realistic and persuasive. The purpose of the letter is clear, but the overall structure lacks the formal conventions expected in a business correspondence.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter lacks clear paragraphing, which makes it difficult to follow the progression of ideas. You have used some basic cohesive devices like 'after that' and 'at the moment', but these are often used incorrectly or in a repetitive manner. There is a lack of logical flow between sentences, and the absence of a formal closing (e.g., 'Yours faithfully') further impacts the coherence of the letter. To improve, use clear paragraph breaks for each main point and employ a wider range of linking words such as 'consequently', 'furthermore', or 'however' to connect your ideas more effectively.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is quite basic and repetitive, relying on simple words like 'big', 'get', and 'look'. There are several instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'looks fabulous on me' and 'get back to the store', which are not appropriate for a formal complaint letter. You also struggle with word choice, such as using 'returned policy' instead of 'returns policy'. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise, formal vocabulary related to retail and customer service, and ensure you use collocations correctly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, particularly with verb tenses and sentence structure. For example, you use 'seen' instead of 'saw', 'i' is frequently written in lowercase, and there are issues with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'they refuse to take'). Many sentences are run-on or lack proper punctuation, which makes the text difficult to read. You rely almost exclusively on simple sentence structures. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, ensuring consistent tense usage, and learning how to use complex sentences with appropriate conjunctions and relative clauses.

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

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