Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-23

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 5.0)

Dear Missam,

I am writing to inform you that my office laptop is start hanging due to lack of storage space and low power graphics card. My office work requires Adobe creative cloud softwares like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Indesign. Which needs a big storage and powerful graphics card for the laptop to increase its capacity to work properly.

It's affecting my daily tasks to continue, I have been facing this challenge since 4 days now I don't have time to wait for its extra hours for loading time.

Please help me to get a new laptop or some changes in the current system to increase its speed with higher power graphics card and change its 2 gb ram to 16 gb ram for better performance and faster processor.

I hope you will look into this matter and solve it with prompt action.

Your Sincerely,

Tania Riaz

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points: describing the problem, explaining the impact, and requesting a solution. However, the response is slightly under the 150-word minimum, which impacts the overall score. While the ideas are relevant, the development is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation of how the problem affects work is brief and could have been expanded with more specific examples of missed deadlines or client frustration to better demonstrate the urgency. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter, though the opening 'Dear Missam' is an error, as it should be 'Dear Sir or Madam' as instructed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and limited. For example, the transition between the problem description and its impact is abrupt. There is a lack of varied linking words to connect sentences smoothly. While the paragraphing is clear, the overall flow is hindered by the repetitive sentence structures and the lack of sophisticated transitions, which prevents the response from reaching a higher band.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for a higher score. You use basic terms like 'big storage' and 'powerful graphics card'. While these communicate the message, they are not particularly sophisticated. There are also some minor errors in word choice, such as 'softwares' (software is an uncountable noun) and 'start hanging' (should be 'has started hanging' or 'is hanging'). To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and avoiding common grammatical errors related to noun countability.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Examples include 'Which needs a big storage' (a sentence fragment), 'since 4 days now' (should be 'for 4 days'), and 'Your Sincerely' (should be 'Yours sincerely'). The verb tense usage is inconsistent, particularly in the first paragraph where 'is start hanging' is incorrect. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from being considered accurate.

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

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