Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-21

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

Student answer (Band 5.0)

Dear Sir or Madam

I would like to inform you about the sofa that I bought from your store was damaged. I was totally unsatisfied with that.

I recently purchased sofa from your store on august 28. When, I saw that it was well designed as well as made from comfortable fabric. Therefore, when it arrived its one leg was damaged and fabric was also torn from one side.

I want to replace this sofa because its has warranty even if that is not possible I would be happy to receive full refund for sofa. I have attached a receipt below. I would appreciate of you will coperate with me because its is expensive.

I would like to listen positive response from you regarding sofa.

your faithfully,

Jiya Sharma

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers the purpose of the letter, explaining the problem with the sofa and stating the desired outcome of a replacement or full refund. However, it fails to meet the minimum length requirement of 150 words, containing only 129 words. This under-length impacts the full development of the task. The tone is somewhat inconsistent for a formal complaint letter, shifting from direct statements of dissatisfaction to slightly informal phrasing like 'I would like to listen positive response'. While the key points such as the date of purchase (august 28) and the specific damages are mentioned, the lack of word count and limited elaboration on details prevent the response from achieving a higher band score. Under the official descriptors, this corresponds to Band 5.0 due to the partial fulfillment and length penalty.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter is organised into clear paragraphs, including an opening, body paragraphs detailing the issue and solution, and a sign-off. However, the logical progression is occasionally hindered by abrupt transitions and mechanical cohesive devices, such as 'When, I saw that...' and 'Therefore, when it arrived'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly with pronoun use regarding the sofa and the receipt. Paragraphing is used, but the overall cohesion feels somewhat disjointed due to choppy sentence structures. Despite these shortcomings, the letter has a coherent overall arrangement that allows the reader to follow the main narrative. This aligns well with the Band 5.0 descriptors for coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses a limited but minimally adequate range of vocabulary relevant to the topic of making a complaint, such as 'damaged', 'unsatisfied', 'fabric', 'warranty', and 'refund'. There are noticeable vocabulary and collocation errors, such as 'I would like to listen positive response' instead of 'receive a positive response', and capitalization issues with proper nouns like 'august'. Word choice is sometimes repetitive, and attempts at less common lexical items are constrained. While the reader can understand the intended message, the vocabulary errors and limited range restrict the score to a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The text contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but attempts at complex structures are frequently faulty or awkwardly punctuated, such as 'I would like to inform you about the sofa that I bought from your store was damaged' (double verb/clause structure error) and 'When, I saw that...'. There are several grammatical inaccuracies and punctuation errors throughout, including missing articles ('purchased sofa', 'for sofa') and awkward phrasing like 'I would appreciate of you will coperate'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur with high frequency and cause some difficulty for the reader, placing the grammar performance firmly at Band 5.0.

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

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