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)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to express my inconvineince regarding my refrigerator, that i have recently purchased from your shop. It shows problem with its temprature setting and shows trouble shooting errors repeatedely.

Currently, i am heavily occupied with taking care of my debilitated dependent parents, who live with me. They require frequent medication on fixed time and prescribed medications to be maintained at cold temprature to preserve their functionalitly. It has been really bothersome for me to able to take care of them, as i have to go back and forth to the pharmacy in order to purchase their regime daily.

I would urge you to take this appliance back to the company at your earlist and kindly rectify any errors. If the appliance is not in a working condition i would either require its replacement or complete refund.

I would really appreciate a prompt response and accountability from your company.

Regards

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully covers all three bullet points required by the task prompt. You clearly described the problem with the refrigerator, explaining that it has temperature setting issues and troubleshooting errors. You also effectively explained how this affects your work and daily life by linking the appliance malfunction to the cold storage needed for your dependent parents' prescribed medication. Finally, you stated what you want the company to do, requesting either a repair, a replacement, or a complete refund. The tone is appropriate for a formal complaint letter, maintaining a clear purpose throughout. Although some ideas could be slightly more elaborated, all parts of the prompt are addressed adequately to meet the core requirements of Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical progression from stating the problem to explaining its impact, and finally making demands. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, the context of the problem, the resolution sought, and the sign-off. However, there are some minor cohesive issues and slightly awkward transitions, such as the punctuation and referencing in 'my refrigerator, that i have recently purchased'. Cohesive devices are generally used, but referencing could be smoother in places to elevate the flow of the letter to a higher band level.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempted a range of less common vocabulary appropriate for a formal complaint, such as 'debilitated', 'prescription', and 'accountability'. However, there are several noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including 'inconvineince' instead of inconvenience, 'temprature' instead of temperature, 'repeatedely' instead of repeatedly, and 'earlist' instead of earliest. Furthermore, the phrase 'purchase their regime' is unnatural collocated phrasing; 'prescription' or 'medication' would be more appropriate. These errors indicate a need for greater accuracy, though communication is not severely impeded.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'Currently, i am heavily occupied with taking care of my debilitated dependent parents, who live with me.' There are several grammatical errors and punctuation mistakes, including lowercase 'i' pronouns ('i have recently purchased', 'i am heavily occupied'), unnecessary commas breaking natural clause structures ('refrigerator, that i'), and slight prepositional misuse ('at your earlist'). Despite these errors, the structures attempted show a reasonable level of control, and communication of your meaning remains clear throughout the letter.

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

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