Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-15

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You work at home and have a problem with a piece of equipment that you use for your job.

Write a letter to the shop or company which supplied the equipment. In your letter

• describe the problem with the equipment
• explain how this problem is affecting your work
• say what you want the shop or company 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/ Madam

I am writing regarding my laptop. which I recently bought from you.

Firstly, I would like to explain that my laptop stopped working while I was working on it. The screen went completely black, and it was unable to start.

This is a major problem for me because all my work document in it. Next week I have a group presentation. So it will be difficult to work without a laptop.

Finally, I would like to say, can you please fix this problem as soon as possible? It is also still under 1 years warrent plain. So the cost is all included in it.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours faithfully,

sukhrajbir kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The letter covers all three bullet points: describing the problem, explaining the impact, and stating the desired action. However, the response is significantly under the 150-word minimum requirement, which limits the development of ideas. For instance, the explanation of how the laptop issue affects your work is quite brief. To improve, you should expand on the consequences of the technical failure, perhaps by describing the specific tasks you are unable to complete or the urgency of the situation. Because the response falls short of the length requirement, it cannot be awarded a score higher than 5.0 for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical structure with a clear opening and closing. Paragraphing is used to separate the different points requested in the prompt. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and limited. For example, the transition 'Next week I have a group presentation' is abrupt. Using more varied linking words or phrases (e.g., 'Furthermore,' 'Consequently,' 'As a result') would improve the flow between sentences and ideas. The referencing is generally clear, but the overall progression of the letter feels slightly disjointed due to the brevity of the paragraphs.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You rely on basic terms such as 'problem' and 'work'. There are also some errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'warrent plain' instead of 'warranty plan' and 'work document' instead of 'work documents'. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more specific terminology related to technical issues and business correspondence. For example, instead of saying the laptop 'stopped working', you could use 'malfunctioned' or 'experienced a critical system failure'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. For instance, 'all my work document in it' is grammatically incorrect and should be 'all my work documents are on it'. Additionally, there are punctuation issues, such as the unnecessary period after 'laptop' in the first sentence. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct sentence boundaries will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.