Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 to explain what happened to my parcel that I oder. Last Sunday, I went to my work when I came home in the evening I got my parcel where I have oder a leather jacket.

When I open it, I was shocked to see beacuse the jacket was torn very badly. The design of the jacket was faded. when I tried to return my oder to the offical website where I have order they declined my request by saying that you are anabled to return it but when I oder there is policy that if you do not like your oder you can replcae or refund.

I just want to request to the manager that if you have policy to retun or replace the oder then you have the responsibility to take some action towards customer satisfaction instead f declining their request.

Your Faithfully

Komalpreet Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover the main situation: the jacket was damaged, the store refused the return, and you ask the manager to take action. The details that it was “torn very badly” and that the design was faded make the problem clear. However, the account of the return is confusing because you refer to an “official website” rather than clearly explaining what happened at the store, as the prompt describes. Your requested outcome is also general: asking for “some action” does not specify whether you want a refund, replacement, or another remedy. To strengthen the letter, explain the return conversation clearly and state the precise resolution you expect, while keeping the request polite and direct.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter follows a broadly sensible order: you introduce the issue, describe the jacket, explain the refusal, and make a request. This gives the reader a basic sense of the purpose. However, the ideas are crowded into long blocks, and the sequence in the opening sentence—“Last Sunday, I went to my work when I came home in the evening I got my parcel”—is difficult to follow. The transition from returning the item to the website’s policy is also unclear. Use separate paragraphs for the damage, the return attempt, and your requested solution, and connect events with clear time markers such as “When I opened the parcel” and “When I returned to the store.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the situation, including “leather jacket,” “torn,” “faded,” “refund,” and “customer satisfaction.” These choices help communicate the basic complaint. However, the range is limited and several spelling errors or imprecise phrases make the letter less clear, such as “oder,” “anabled,” “replcae,” and “offical website.” Some expressions are also unnatural for this context: “return my order” is less precise than describing returning the jacket, and “take some action towards customer satisfaction” is vague. Check spelling carefully and choose specific complaint vocabulary, such as “damaged item,” “replacement,” or “full refund,” to make your meaning more precise and professional.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to combine events and reasons in longer sentences, for example when explaining that you opened the parcel and found the jacket damaged. However, these complex sentences are often faulty, and the limited control sometimes makes the timeline hard to understand. In “Last Sunday, I went to my work when I came home,” the clauses are not joined clearly; “When I open it” also shifts tense, while the events are in the past. There are further problems with articles, sentence boundaries, and capitalization, including “the jacket” after a full stop and “when” beginning a new sentence in lowercase. Practise accurate past-tense forms and divide long sentences into shorter, correctly punctuated statements.

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

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