Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-25

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 5.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction related to my recent purchase from your store on 15th October.

I am one of the regular customers and always recieved proffesional service. Unfrtunately, my recent shopping experience was not up to mark. The hole in the front side of the jacket is the main concern, which made my shopping experience unsatisfactory.

I desided to return the article, but the staff at that day was very unprofessional. The refuse to return and did not offer for any exchange.

I would suggest you for a meeting with your staff memeber about this issuse. Apart from that, the return is the best approach to solve this problem.

I would appreciate if you could consider my suggestion and take desire steps as soon as possible for better customer handling in future.

Yours faithfully,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address all three bullet points: you identify a hole in the jacket, explain that staff refused a return and offered no exchange, and request action from the manager. However, the problem and the return encounter are only briefly described, and the requested remedy is not fully clear: “the return is the best approach” could mean a refund, while an exchange is also mentioned. The request for a staff meeting is relevant but does not explain what outcome you want for yourself. The letter is also 9 words below the required minimum, so there is limited space to develop these points. Add details about when you noticed the damage and state explicitly whether you want a refund or replacement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: it opens with the purpose, describes the purchase and damage, recounts the attempted return, and ends with a request. Paragraphing helps the reader follow these stages. Some links between ideas are less smooth, however. “Apart from that” does not clearly connect the staff meeting to your preferred solution, and “The hole … is the main concern, which made my shopping experience unsatisfactory” combines the damage with a general comment without explaining the connection. The closing request also repeats the idea of taking action without specifying the outcome. Use clearer transitions and refer directly to the jacket or the requested refund/replacement to make the progression more precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use vocabulary relevant to a complaint, including “dissatisfaction,” “regular customers,” “unprofessional,” and “exchange,” and the main message remains understandable. There are noticeable spelling and word-choice problems, though, such as “recieved,” “proffesional,” “Unfrtunately,” “desided,” “memeber,” and “issuse.” Some phrases are also unnatural or imprecise: “dissatisfaction related to” would be more naturally expressed as “dissatisfaction with,” while “not up to mark” needs the article “the.” “Return the article” and “take desire steps” are unclear or awkward in this context. Proofread spelling and choose standard complaint-letter collocations, such as “return the jacket for a refund” and “take appropriate action.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple sentences and some more developed structures, including “I am writing to express…” and the relative clause in “The hole …, which made my shopping experience unsatisfactory.” The message is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. In “The refuse to return,” the subject and verb do not agree, and the sentence needs a clear subject such as “They refused.” “I would appreciate if” is missing “it” before the clause, and “I would suggest you for a meeting” has an incorrect grammatical pattern. There are also article and preposition issues in phrases such as “up to mark.” Practise accurate verb forms and common request structures, for example, “I would appreciate it if you could…”

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