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.

Yesterday, i came to your store which is located in Brampton and Selected one blue leather jacket. I wore this jacket in store and checked the size that time it was perfect but when i reached at home and washed it and try again it was not fitting me just beacuse it got shrunk.

I came to your store and told all the story to sales person but he started shouting on me and blamed me for this this happen. He did not listen my request and requested me to leave the store.

I want a serious action on him from your side beacuse he is not a good salesman.I spend $200 on that jacket so either i want full refund or a new jacket in exchange.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours Sincerely,

Harvinderpreet Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You successfully cover all three bullet points required in the task instructions. You describe the problem with the jacket being damaged and shrinking after washing, explain your interaction with the sales person who refused a return, and state your clear demand for either a full refund or a replacement along with disciplinary action for the employee. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others; for instance, the explanation of the return attempt is somewhat repetitive regarding the salesperson's reaction. To reach a higher band, you would need to extend and support your ideas with greater depth and clarity throughout the letter, ensuring every point is fully elaborated without relying on repetitive descriptions of the store confrontation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

Your letter has a coherent overall arrangement that guides the reader logically from the initial purchase to the problem, the store visit, and finally your demands. You make use of basic cohesive devices such as 'Yesterday', 'and', and 'so' to connect your ideas. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and referencing can be imprecise, such as the ambiguous pronoun use in 'blamed me for this this happen'. Furthermore, paragraphing is not fully managed, as some paragraphs combine multiple distinct ideas that would be better separated. To achieve a higher band, you need to use a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices and ensure your paragraph structure clearly separates each stage of your narrative.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your message effectively with terms like 'leather jacket', 'refund', and 'salesman'. You attempt some less common vocabulary, but this is accompanied by noticeable errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'beacuse' instead of 'because', 'Selected' with an unnecessary capital letter, and the awkward collocation 'told all the story' instead of 'told the whole story'. These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they restrict your score. To reach a higher band, you would need to demonstrate a wider and more precise range of vocabulary, control your spelling more carefully, and use more natural collocations suited to a formal complaint letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as when combining clauses with conjunctions like 'when I reached at home and washed it and try again'. You demonstrate control over basic past tense narration with verbs like 'bought', 'came', and 'wore'. However, there are noticeable errors in grammar and punctuation, including missing articles ('in store', 'at home'), incorrect prepositions ('reached at home' instead of 'reached home', 'shouting on me' instead of 'shouting at me'), and inconsistent verb forms ('try' instead of 'tried'). These errors are frequent enough to cause some difficulty for the reader. To move to a higher band, you must increase your accuracy with prepositions, articles, and verb tenses while producing a greater proportion of error-free sentences.

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

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