Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-07-29

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/MADAM,

I am writing to express my disappointment regarding the dress i have bought from your website. Firstly i want to tell you that i have never experienced this thing from your company tell now, its my first time that i have ordered the dress and the colour of the dress not same that i have purchased. On the top of it the quality of the product is very bad . I am quite disheartened as i am having my friends birthday party next week and i have to wear this dress there. I will really appreciate if you replace my best as fast as possible. I have already returned the dress at postoffice it will soon reach your wear house. The tracking number is A4444.

I hope that i will receive my dress before my friends birthday party.thank you for your time and consideration

With regards

Parneet kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The letter covers all three bullet points: purchase details, the problem, and the urgency of the replacement. However, the development is quite basic. For instance, the purchase details are vague (no order number or specific item name), and the explanation of the problem lacks descriptive detail. While the tone is appropriate for a formal complaint, the response is just at the threshold of the requirement. To improve, you should provide more specific information, such as the order date or the specific name of the item, and expand on why the quality is poor to better persuade the reader.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is generally coherent, and the message is easy to follow. However, the paragraphing is weak; the entire body of the letter is presented as a single block of text, which makes it look cluttered. Using clear paragraph breaks between the introduction, the problem description, and the request for action would significantly improve the structure. Cohesive devices are used, but they are somewhat repetitive (e.g., 'Firstly', 'On the top of it'). Introducing a wider variety of linking words would help the flow of ideas feel more natural and professional.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. Phrases like 'experienced this thing' and 'very bad' are quite informal and imprecise. There are also some errors in word choice, such as 'wear house' instead of 'warehouse' and 'best' instead of 'dress'. To reach a higher band, you should aim for more specific vocabulary related to retail complaints, such as 'defective', 'discrepancy', or 'expedite'. While the meaning is clear, the limited range of vocabulary restricts the overall impact of your complaint.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The letter contains several grammatical errors that affect the quality of the writing. There are issues with article usage ('the colour of the dress not same'), subject-verb agreement, and punctuation (e.g., 'i' is frequently written in lowercase). The sentence structures are mostly simple, with limited attempts at complex sentences. While the errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the message, they are frequent enough to be noticeable. Focusing on basic sentence construction, proper capitalization, and consistent verb tenses will help improve your accuracy.

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