Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-29

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 writng this letter to you raising a complaint about my new purchased equipment which is not working proper.

It is a laptop company name HP model numberA2D3B5 its in black color operating system is intel generation 5 and its running very fast in starting days but after some my laptop become very slow The problem is regarding buttons of my laptop last weekdays when i was attended a meeting with my coworkers unfortunately my laptop screen turn into black i also tried restart my laptop but no changes.

Without laptop i can not work beacuse i am doing work from home and all formalities only works on laptop my boss scolded me why you do not buy new laptop leave it this one He said you the senior as compared to others.

I have an insurance which i took at the time of purchase i want replace my laptop as soon possible.

I look forward hearing from you

Your's Truly,

Tejvir

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three required points: you identify the laptop and describe its slow performance and black screen, explain that working from home has become difficult, and request a replacement under the insurance. The details about the meeting and your boss help show the practical impact. However, the equipment problem is not fully clear: you mention the buttons, a black screen, and slowness without explaining whether these are separate faults or when each began. The request is also brief and does not specify what you expect the company to do if replacement is not possible. Clarifying the fault and making a precise, polite request would develop the letter more fully while keeping its relevant content and purpose clear.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a recognisable structure, moving from the complaint to its effect on your work and then to the action you want. Separate paragraphs help distinguish these points, and the closing is appropriate for a formal letter. Within the main description, however, several details run together in a long sequence, such as the laptop’s specifications, its initial speed, and the black-screen incident. This makes the progression harder to follow, and the connection between the buttons and the screen problem is unclear. Some linking is also mechanical, with repeated use of “and” and “but.” Group related information into shorter sentences and use clear transitions such as “Recently” and “As a result” to make the sequence easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the basic complaint, including “laptop,” “operating system,” “meeting,” “insurance,” and “replace.” However, several noticeable word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems make the letter less natural and occasionally obscure the intended meaning. For example, “new purchased equipment,” “not working proper,” and “all formalities only works on laptop” are not idiomatic or precise. “Buttons” is also an unclear description of the fault when the main incident reported is a black screen. Check spelling and choose standard phrases for a formal complaint; more precise terms such as “the screen went black” and “my work depends on the laptop” would make your meaning clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, and the reader can generally understand the main message. Some errors in sentence structure, verb forms, agreement, articles, and punctuation remain. For instance, “I look forward hearing” needs “to hearing,” while “all formalities only works” has a subject–verb agreement problem. The long sentence beginning “It is a laptop company name HP” combines several ideas without clear grammatical boundaries, and “when i was attended a meeting” has an incorrect verb form. Use complete sentences with clear subjects and verbs, and separate the laptop’s specifications from the account of the fault. These changes would improve accuracy without requiring more complicated structures.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.