Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-22

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 this letter to inform you that I recently purchased a brown leather jacket from your store and it was amazing fit for me until i found out it was damaged from inside right inner pocket so very next day i visit your store but one your hour salesman from the count Mr.jhon refused to return it and gave me reason that it wasn’t damaged when purchased.

Its my humble request to kindly accept the return and check your inventory before displaying it on the shelves.

Regards,

Suhail abbas

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5

The student covers all three bullet points from the prompt: describing the jacket's damage, explaining the encounter with the sales assistant named Mr. Jhon, and stating the desired resolution. However, the response is severely underdeveloped and falls well short of the 150-word minimum, containing only 95 words. Because the length requirement is not met, the task cannot be fully addressed in terms of developed ideas and extending the position, leading to a low band score in this category.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter lacks proper paragraphing, being condensed into one long, run-on body paragraph after the salutation. Cohesive devices are minimal and basic, relying heavily on consecutive coordinating conjunctions rather than sophisticated transitions. While the chronological sequence of events (buying the jacket, discovering the flaw, visiting the store, meeting the salesman) is understandable, the overall organization is hampered by the lack of clear paragraph breaks and mechanical referencing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is quite basic and repetitive, such as 'store', 'jacket', and 'damaged'. There are awkward word choices and collocations, such as 'amazing fit for me' instead of 'perfect fit' and 'hour salesman' instead of 'sales assistant'. Spelling and capitalization errors are also present, including 'i' instead of 'I' and the proper noun 'jhon' written without an initial capital letter. The range is limited and minimally adequate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The text consists largely of a single, highly extended run-on sentence joined by coordinating conjunctions like 'and' and 'until'. There is a lack of varied complex sentence structures and punctuation, with missing full stops and commas. Grammatical errors are frequent, particularly regarding capitalization ('sir', 'i', 'jhon') and missing articles or prepositions ('damaged from inside right inner pocket'). These errors create strain for the reader.

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

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