Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-26

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 Madam,

I recently purchased a laptop from your shop. When i see and use the laptop at your shop , it was in a good condition. when i used the laptop for my office work after one week then i found that it had a battery issue. Whenever i was in a meting or doing my work from home suddenly between the work my laptop stopped and shut down . This affect my work .

I request you to put some awareness to this letter and send someone who can check the laptop i borrowed from you and find the correct poblem. I will appreciate you for this.

Your sincerely,

Renuka

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The candidate has partially addressed all three parts of the task. The problem with the equipment is described (battery issue causing sudden shutdown), and the effect on work is mentioned briefly ("This affect my work"). Furthermore, a request for what the company should do is included, asking them to send someone to check the laptop. However, the response falls significantly short of the 150-word minimum requirement, containing only 112 words. Because the length requirement was not met, the ideas remain under-developed and lack the necessary expansion expected for a higher band. To improve, the candidate must expand on how the issue specifically impacts their daily tasks and provide a more comprehensive request for resolution while ensuring the word count is fully satisfied.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The letter follows a clear formal letter format with an appropriate greeting and sign-off. Ideas are somewhat organised, progressing from the purchase to the defect, the impact, and finally the requested action. However, paragraphing is weak and overly fragmented, with single-sentence paragraphs used instead of grouping related ideas. Cohesive devices are very basic and sometimes missing or misused, such as the abrupt transition in "This affect my work." Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as referring to a purchased laptop as one that was "borrowed." To achieve a higher score, the candidate needs to group sentences into logical paragraphs and use a wider range of cohesive devices to connect ideas smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is basic, repetitive, and restricted to simple everyday language. Examples include repeating words like "laptop," "shop," and "work" frequently throughout the short text. There are notable lexical limitations and errors, such as using the verb "borrowed" instead of "purchased" or "bought" in the second paragraph, and spelling errors such as "poblem" instead of "problem." While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the basic message, the lack of a varied or less common lexical resource keeps this criterion at a lower band level. Incorporating precise technical terms or synonyms for everyday verbs would enhance the lexical range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates a limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and basic compound forms. There are several noticeable grammatical and punctuation errors, such as capitalization issues ("When i see...", "when i used..."), verb tense inconsistencies ("When i see and use the laptop at your shop , it was in a good condition"), and a missing auxiliary verb in the negative impact statement ("This affect my work"). Although the meaning remains mostly clear despite these errors, the frequent basic mistakes and lack of complex sentence structures prevent the response from achieving a higher score.

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