Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-02

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 am writing you this letter because i got some trouble with my computer's ups . i think it broke down or not working properly. the problem is that when i conect it with my household electricity at my home socket it did not get connected to the electricity . due to this i can start my computer and finish my task. which can cause depreciation to my performance in the company. and it will create loss to the company which will not a good thing for the company. so there is my humble request to the company thatthey need to provide me a new ups which should be guranteed to work for longer period of time. the company shoud provide me a ups before ending of this week because it wll help me to complete my task before the deadline which will be beneficial for me and the company also.

yours faithfully

harpreet singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task. You have described the problem with your UPS device, explained how it affects your work and company performance, and clearly stated what action you want the company to take by requesting a replacement before the end of the week. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others. While the description of the problem and the desired outcome are straightforward, the explanation of how it affects your work is somewhat repetitive, focusing broadly on company losses rather than specific daily tasks. To reach a higher level, you should extend and support your ideas with greater depth and specific details about the exact work tasks being delayed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a coherent overall arrangement to the letter, presenting a clear purpose from the beginning. However, the progression of ideas is hindered by the complete lack of paragraphing, as the entire body of the letter is written as a single block of text. Furthermore, cohesive devices are inadequate and repetitive, relying mostly on basic linkers like 'and' or 'so' to connect clauses. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'so there is my humble request', which disrupts the natural flow. To improve, you need to divide your letter into clear paragraphs for each distinct point and use a wider, more accurate variety of cohesive devices to guide the reader smoothly through your argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully communicating your basic message to the reader. You attempt some less common items related to the situation, such as 'depreciation', 'performance', and 'deadline'. However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice and spelling, such as writing 'conect' instead of 'connect' and 'guranteed' instead of 'guaranteed'. The phrase 'got some trouble' is also rather informal for business correspondence. These spelling and word choice errors do not heavily impede communication, but they restrict your score. To achieve a higher band, you should incorporate a wider range of precise, formal vocabulary and check your spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

Your writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as when you use relative clauses introduced by 'which'. However, your control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are several errors in verb forms and tenses, such as 'it did not get connected' instead of 'it does not connect' or 'it will not get connected', and 'it wll help me'. Punctuation is also weak, particularly the lack of capitalisation at the beginning of sentences ('dear sir', 'i am writing') and missing commas after introductory elements. These errors persist throughout the text and cause some difficulty for the reader. To improve, you should focus on accurate subject-verb agreement, proper tense consistency, and correct sentence punctuation.

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

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