Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-27

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)

To: R AND Sons company

address: 785, 4th avenue SW

PO: T2RN65

Dear Supplier,

Two days ago, i ordered the sitting chair for my work but unfortunately i am unable to sit on my chair. Beacuse there is missing two screw parts which feel uncomfortable to sit and do my work. In addition to this, i also ordered the stand to put my keyboard which is missing in the box.

Furthermore, i have heared the great reviews about your firm about supplying the best materials and service, but i did'nt get that service.

So i want the full refund for that order or else provide the exchange and give all the parts which is required. Nevertheless, I want not only the screw parts but also the missing stand to keep keyboard for my work.

So please solve this issue immediately and try to get equipment in 2 days which will be very helpful.

Thanks

Kind regards

Ronak Suradkar

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response covers all three bullet points from the prompt adequately. First, the student describes the problem by stating that the sitting chair is missing two screw parts and that the keyboard stand is also missing. Second, they explain how this affects their work by mentioning that they cannot sit comfortably to do their work. Finally, they state what they want the company to do by requesting a full refund or an exchange with all required parts included. The tone is appropriate for a formal complaint letter, although some ideas are slightly repetitive towards the end regarding the missing parts. Overall, the task is successfully fulfilled without any major omissions, meeting the requirements well for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear purpose and logical progression of ideas. Paragraphing is attempted, though the layout is slightly disjointed with several short, single-sentence paragraphs at the beginning and end. Cohesive devices such as 'unfortunately', 'In addition to this', and 'Furthermore' are used to connect ideas, although referencing is occasionally imprecise, such as 'the sitting chair' instead of 'a sitting chair'. Paragraphing structure could be improved for a smoother flow, but the progression from describing the problem to stating the desired resolution is clear enough to secure a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'subsequently requested resolutions' or business-oriented phrases like 'full refund' and 'exchange'. However, there are notable word choice and phrasing errors, such as 'i ordered the sitting chair' and 'there is missing two screw parts', along with spelling errors like 'Beacuse' and 'heared'. Vocabulary is minimally sufficient to convey the message, but these inaccuracies place the response firmly in the Band 5.5 range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as using subordinate clauses with 'although' or relative clauses. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('there is missing two screw parts'), missing capitalization for the pronoun 'i', and tense inconsistencies ('did'nt get'). Punctuation is also erratic in places, such as unspaced periods and commas. While communication is not severely impeded and the meaning remains clear, the density of errors keeps the performance at a Band 5.0.

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