Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-22

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 hope this letter finds you in a good way,

I recently bought Grinder machine from your store which is near to my place. Since the very beginning of product it is very easy and noiseless. However after 1 week of use it makes some noise, which affects my job.

As I am doing my work from home, this noise makes me uncomfortable when I am meeting with my organisation. Additionally, when my moms use it and I am with my clients on calls they get frastrated with me and complain my progress to my boss. Which is obviously affecting my position.

I am requesting to you to complain this issue with the product's company. As they change some equipments or motors in the grinder machine which can not make such a crazy noises.

I am extremely thankful to your response. And if I would like to exchange my product from another company would I? or should I bought new one?

Thank you,

Yours sincerely,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task: describing the problem, explaining the impact on your work, and stating your desired outcome. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For example, the explanation of how the noise affects your work is slightly confusing, particularly the mention of your mother using the machine while you are on client calls. To improve, ensure your narrative flow is logical and clearly explains the causal link between the equipment failure and your professional difficulties. The request for action is clear, though the phrasing regarding the exchange is slightly awkward.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your points. You use some cohesive devices like 'However' and 'Additionally' to connect ideas. However, the transitions between sentences are sometimes mechanical or abrupt, such as the jump from the description of the noise to the impact on your work. The paragraphing is sufficient, but the overall flow could be improved by using more varied linking phrases to create a smoother progression of ideas. Referencing is generally clear, but some sentences feel disconnected due to grammatical errors that disrupt the flow of information.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to complete the task, but there are several instances of imprecise word choice and spelling errors that hinder the professional tone. For example, 'in a good way' is not a standard opening, and 'frastrated' is a spelling error. You also use 'crazy noises' and 'change some equipments', which are slightly informal or grammatically incorrect. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations, such as 'defective' instead of 'crazy' or 'replace' instead of 'change'. Expanding your range of formal business vocabulary will significantly improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that occasionally impede clarity. For instance, 'Since the very beginning of product it is very easy' contains a tense error and missing articles. The sentence 'Which is obviously affecting my position' is a sentence fragment. Additionally, the final question 'would I? or should I bought new one?' is grammatically incorrect. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focus on subject-verb agreement and correct verb tense usage.

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

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