Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-04

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,

I am writing this letter regarding the jacket which i bought from your store and found damaged.

I came to you store and selected one blue colour jacket. I wear in store and checked the size and it was perfect that time but when i came to home and wash it and tried again i was unable to wear it beacuse it got shrinked.

When i come to your store and told the whole story to the sales person he started shouting on me and he blame me for this happen. When i requested for exchange then he denied and ask me to leave the store.

I wanna have a action from your side on him because his behaviour is not like good sales person. I spend $200 on that jacket so i need either my refund for jacket or exchange with new one.

I look forword to hearing from you soon.

Yours Sincerely,

Harvinderpreet Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You successfully address all three bullet points required in the task instructions. You describe the problem with the jacket by mentioning that it shrank after washing, explain what happened when you tried to return it by stating that the salesperson shouted and denied the exchange, and clearly state your desired outcome of a refund or exchange along with action regarding the staff member. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others. While the description of the store encounter is clear, the explanation of the product issue is rather basic and lacks detail. To move to a higher level, you should extend your ideas further by providing more specific context or elaborating more fully on each point rather than keeping them brief.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

Your letter has a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical structure that moves from the problem to the store experience and finally to your demands. You make use of basic paragraphing to separate your introduction, body points, and conclusion. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and referencing is not always entirely clear, such as the abrupt transitions between paragraphs and repetitive sentence openings. Furthermore, the closing phrase 'I look forword to hearing from you soon' shows basic linking. To achieve a higher score, you need to use a wider range of cohesive devices more smoothly and ensure that paragraph transitions guide the reader more naturally through your narrative.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your message about the damaged jacket and the store dispute. You attempt some less common vocabulary, but this is accompanied by noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, form, and spelling. For instance, writing 'blue colour jacket' instead of 'blue jacket', 'shrinked' instead of 'shrunk', and 'look forword' instead of 'look forward'. Additionally, phrases like 'I wanna have a action' are informal and inappropriate for this formal letter format. To improve this criterion, you need to expand your lexical range, improve your word forms and spelling, and adopt a consistently formal and appropriate tone throughout the letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms in your letter, such as the use of 'when I came to home and wash it and tried again' combined with conditional or temporal clauses. There are several errors in grammar, verb forms, and articles, including missing articles ('found damaged', 'have a action'), incorrect prepositions ('came to home' instead of 'came home', 'on me' instead of 'at me'), and tense inconsistencies. Although these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur regularly. To reach a higher band, you must increase your control over complex sentence structures and significantly reduce grammatical errors by paying closer attention to verb tenses, prepositions, and articles.

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

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