Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-18
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,
I am writing this letter to inform that my laptop is not working properly, which I bought from your shop 2 months ago. It shows restart again and again as well as battery health is also not good.
As my whole work is depend on laptop. I am not able to complete my all task on time because i have to charge after two hours. moreover, whenever I try to charge laptop it's screen is very hot, so, i have fear of that something is burning inside.
I have humble request to you please replace this laptop with another one, which has good quality. As i will pay extra money for new piece. please let me know as soon as possible.
Thank you for your cooperation and help.
Your faithfully,
Aqsa.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The letter addresses all three bullet points: describing the problem, explaining the impact on work, and requesting a solution. However, the response is significantly under the 150-word minimum, which limits the development of ideas. The description of the laptop issues is somewhat brief, and the explanation of how it affects your work could be expanded with more specific examples of the tasks you are unable to complete. To improve, ensure you provide more detail to fully develop each point, which will also help you meet the length requirement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your points. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'As', 'moreover', and 'whenever' to link ideas. However, the flow is occasionally mechanical, and the transitions between sentences could be smoother. The use of paragraphing is appropriate for a formal letter, but the overall structure would benefit from more sophisticated linking words to connect your arguments more fluidly. The opening and closing salutations are appropriate for the context.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate the problem clearly. You use some relevant terms like 'cooperation' and 'properly'. However, the range is limited, and there are some awkward phrasings, such as 'it shows restart again and again' and 'i have fear of that something is burning'. Using more precise collocations would improve your score. For instance, instead of saying 'battery health is also not good', you could use 'the battery life is significantly degraded'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
There are several grammatical errors throughout the text, including issues with articles ('the' is missing before 'laptop'), subject-verb agreement ('my whole work is depend'), and sentence structure ('it's screen is very hot'). While the meaning remains clear, these errors are frequent. You rely mostly on simple sentence structures. To reach a higher band, you should aim to incorporate more complex sentence forms, such as relative clauses or conditional sentences, and pay closer attention to basic grammar rules like verb forms and article usage.
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.