Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-10

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You have bought some clothing online and are not satisfied with your purchase.

Write a letter to the company that you bought the clothing from. In your email:

• give details of the purchase
• describe the problem
• explain why you need a replacement urgently

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Dear Sir,

I am writing to adress my dissapointment regarding my recent purchase made from Meesho. I have been shopping online from the Meesho site since the last 3 months. I ussually feel satisfied with my purchases and love the services.

However, the last purchase I made was last week, when I ordered a blue party dress for my birthday. I recieved it 3 days before my birthday and it was a damaged piece. It had some kind of stains and was torn from the side. I tried to return it and asked for replacement but ended up having nothing.

I urgently need a replacement or a refund. Please help me out as soon as possible. I have already planned this outfit for my celebration and it will be very embarassing to change plans for my outfit at the last moment.

I appreciate your attention to this matter and your efforts applied. Looking forward to hearing back from you.

Thanks

Your's sincerely

Gopika

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three required points: you identify the purchase as a blue party dress ordered last week, describe the stains and tear, and explain that you need a replacement or refund urgently because the dress was planned for your birthday celebration. The purpose is clear throughout, and the explanation of the embarrassment caused by changing plans supports your request. To make the response more fully developed, include practical purchase details such as an order number, price, or exact delivery date, and clarify what happened when you attempted to return the item. A more specific request—for example, asking for delivery by a particular date—would also make the urgency and desired outcome clearer.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The information follows a clear, logical sequence: you introduce your complaint, describe the purchase and its condition, explain the urgency, and close with a request for action. Paragraphing helps distinguish these stages, while transitions such as “However” and “I appreciate your attention” guide the reader. The progression is easy to follow, although the opening comments about your general shopping history are less directly connected to the complaint and could be shortened to give more space to the return attempt and the action you expect. The closing is polite, but the sign-off could be presented more conventionally as “Yours sincerely” or “Yours faithfully” to maintain a consistent formal-letter style.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the complaint and its consequences, including “damaged,” “stains,” “torn,” “replacement,” and “embarrassing.” However, spelling errors such as “adress,” “dissapointment,” “ussually,” “recieved,” and “embarassing” are noticeable and reduce the accuracy of the vocabulary. Some expressions are also imprecise or unnatural: “ended up having nothing” does not clearly explain the outcome of the return request, and “your efforts applied” is not a natural collocation. Aim for precise customer-service language, such as explaining that the return request was unsuccessful and thanking the company for its assistance. This would make the tone more polished and the meaning more exact.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The letter includes a mix of simple and more developed sentence forms, and the meaning remains clear. For example, “I tried to return it and asked for replacement but ended up having nothing” combines actions, while “I have already planned this outfit for my celebration” uses the present perfect appropriately. Some grammatical issues remain. In “I have been shopping online … since the last 3 months,” the time expression needs a different construction, and “asked for replacement” needs an article or plural form. The sentence beginning “However, the last purchase I made was last week, when…” is awkwardly structured, and “Your’s sincerely” has incorrect apostrophe use. Review articles, time expressions, and sentence construction to improve accuracy while retaining varied sentence forms.

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