Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-21

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, Hope you are doing well . I am writing this letter to inform you that i am facing an issue with my laptop. I have been working from home for two years. Unfortuneately , keyboard is not working now i could'nt complete my tasks from two days. In addition , There is also a problem with mic. Furthermore , Company gave me this laptop to work from home. But this is afffecting my work nowadays , I have postponed my international meetings as well i could;nt look into important mails of clients. It is really disturbing , It needs to be sorted as soon as possible . To sum up , I request you to arrange another laptop for me on urgent basis or repair this one, So that i can work from home again, I look forward to the response . Yours sincerely , Sam

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all three bullet points required by the prompt: you described the problem with the keyboard and microphone, explained how it affects your work by delaying international meetings and client emails, and stated what you want the company to do by asking for a replacement laptop or repair. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter of complaint. However, there is a minor penalty for length because the response contains 148 words, falling slightly short of the 150-word minimum requirement. Despite this minor shortcoming, all aspects of the task are adequately addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter has a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical progression from describing the problem to explaining its impact and finally stating the desired outcome. Paragraphing is attempted, though some paragraphs are quite short or choppy. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'In addition', 'Furthermore', and 'To sum up', but some punctuation and capitalization errors affect the smooth flow, such as spacing around commas and periods (e.g., 'Unfortuneately , keyboard'). Referencing is generally clear, but the mechanical formatting of sentences occasionally hinders cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your message effectively. You attempted some less common phrases like 'international meetings', 'on urgent basis', and 'work from home'. However, there are noticeable spelling errors such as 'Unfortuneately', 'could'nt', and 'afffecting'. Word choice and collocations are generally clear, but these lexical inaccuracies prevent the score from reaching a higher band. Overall, the range is sufficient to communicate your situation clearly to the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You have used a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'I am writing this letter to inform you that i am facing an issue...' and conditional/purpose clauses like 'So that i can work from home again'. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly incorrect capitalization of the pronoun 'i', improper spacing before punctuation marks, and run-on sentences (e.g., 'It is really disturbing , It needs to be sorted...'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they persist throughout the text and lower the overall accuracy score.

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

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