Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-30
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,
I hope you are doing well. I am writing to tell you about a laptop that i purchased from your company recently. I use this laptop for my work at home. It is difficult to manage work for me.I have facing many problems with it.
The main problem is that the laptop suddenly switches off while i am working.Sometime, the battery does not long last which i ever full of charge.In addition the laptop work very slow when i am running some programs.
These program are seriously effective my work. I have to restart the laptop several time , which wastes a lot of time. As a result, i am unable to complete my work at a time and mostly work on late night . This sitiuation are very frustrating for me.
I would be grateful if you repair my laptop or raplacement to a new one.I can provide a receipt and other details of my purchase if required.I hope that you will resolve this issue soon.
Yours faithfully,
Minahal
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response covers all three bullet points required by the task instructions. You successfully describe the problem with the laptop by stating that it 'suddenly switches off' and works very slowly. You also explain how this affects your work, mentioning that it wastes time, causes you to work late at night, and is frustrating. Finally, you state what you want the company to do by asking them to 'repair my laptop or raplacement to a new one.' The purpose of the letter is clear throughout, maintaining an appropriate formal tone suitable for a customer service complaint. All parts of the prompt are addressed adequately, placing this performance at a solid Band 6.0 level.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The letter has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear beginning and ending. The text is broken down into appropriate paragraphs, each focusing on a different aspect of the letter, such as introducing the problem, detailing the effects, and stating the desired resolution. However, there are some issues with cohesion and referencing. For instance, transitional phrases are sometimes simple or repetitive, and cohesive devices are occasionally faulty. Additionally, punctuation errors around paragraphs affect the flow. Despite these mechanical flaws, the logical progression is generally maintained, which aligns with the Band 6.0 descriptors.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to clearly describe the situation and your equipment issues. You attempt some less common vocabulary such as 'frustrating' and 'purchase', but there are noticeable word choice and form errors, such as writing 'raplacement' instead of replacement and 'sitiuation' instead of situation. Furthermore, collocation and phrasing show limitations, as seen in expressions like 'battery does not long last' instead of 'the battery does not last long' or 'complete my work at a time'. These errors do not impede communication, but they restrict your lexical score to a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'I would be grateful if you repair my laptop...' and 'I am writing to tell you about a laptop that i purchased...'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the letter, including tense and verb form issues like 'I have facing' instead of 'I have been facing', and 'These program are seriously effective' instead of 'These programs are seriously affecting'. Punctuation and capitalization errors, such as lowercase 'i' and missing spaces after periods, are also present. While communication is not impeded, the frequency of errors places this performance within the Band 5.0 range.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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