Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-07-25

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 or Madam,

I am writing this email to discuss a online purchase which is not up to the mark.

Firstly, I would like to inform you that I purchased some stuff online but I am not satisfied with those items. I ordered on 20th September, in my purchase there are some casual clothes and two pair of shoes, which took too much time to reached at the location.

In addition, when I got my parcel, I was excited to look product, which I ordered, but when I opened it was not fulfill the check list. Also, there numerous issues with the stuff, cloths are not same which shows on the pictures, and those shoes there are bigger than my size.

Finally, I have request to that I need urgently my shoes, because I have to wear them on a competition which is very crucial for me, it is held next week, so before next week I have to get them back on my size could you please let me know if it is possible.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Kind Regards,

John.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points required by the prompt. You provided details of the purchase (date, items), described the problems (incorrect items and sizing issues), and explained the urgency of the replacement (a competition next week). The tone is appropriate for a formal complaint letter. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited; for instance, the description of the issues is a bit vague, and the request for a replacement could be more clearly linked to a specific resolution process. Overall, the task is fully addressed, though the expression of ideas could be more precise to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the narrative. You use some basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'In addition', and 'Finally' to structure your points. However, the flow between sentences is occasionally mechanical, and some transitions feel abrupt. For example, the sentence 'I was excited to look product' lacks a smooth connection to the following clause. Additionally, some referencing is slightly unclear, such as 'those shoes there are bigger'. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between ideas would enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'purchase', 'satisfied', and 'urgently'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'not up to the mark', 'took too much time to reached', and 'not fulfill the check list'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do highlight a limited control over more sophisticated or idiomatic language. To improve, focus on learning common collocations related to customer service and retail, and ensure that your word forms (e.g., 'reached' vs 'reach') are used correctly in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('cloths are not same'), article usage ('on a competition'), and tense consistency ('which shows on the pictures'). Additionally, some sentence constructions are fragmented or run-on, such as 'I have to wear them on a competition which is very crucial for me, it is held next week'. While these errors rarely prevent the reader from understanding your message, they are frequent enough to limit your score. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for small errors would be beneficial.

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