Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-05

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 letter to express my dissatisfaction for my recent cloth purchase from your website.

To begin with, l purchased three piece suit from your online site, It was white in color with various colorful flowers design on blazer. Also, the size of the suit was large and it was vary decent.

Yesterday, I received delivery for the suit, when I opened the Box I found the dents on it and many dark stain on white blazer. Moreover, the size of the suit is not matching with my order.

I ordered this suit to wear on my best friend's marriage function in next week. To resolve this issue, I would like urgent replacement of the suit with new one. I am sending some photographs of the damaged clothes.

I hope you understand the situation. I look forward to your prompt response.

Warm regards,

Romil

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You provided details of the purchase, described the specific problems with the suit, and explained the urgency regarding your friend's wedding. The tone is appropriate for a formal complaint letter. To reach a higher band, ensure that your descriptions are more precise; for example, instead of saying 'dents on it', which is unusual for clothing, you could specify 'tears' or 'damage to the fabric'. Overall, the purpose of the letter is clear, and the reader understands exactly what you require.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs for the issues, and a conclusion. You use basic cohesive devices like 'To begin with', 'Also', and 'Moreover' to link your ideas. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes a bit mechanical. To improve, try to vary your transition words and ensure that the progression of ideas feels more natural. For instance, the transition from describing the suit to the delivery issues could be smoother by using a more sophisticated linking phrase. Paragraphing is used correctly to separate the different points of your complaint.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but there are some inaccuracies in word choice. For example, 'cloth purchase' should be 'clothing purchase', and 'dents' is not the correct term for fabric damage; 'defects' or 'tears' would be better. You also use 'vary decent' which is likely a typo for 'very decent', though 'decent' is a bit informal here. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations related to retail and product complaints, such as 'defective item', 'incorrect size', or 'request a full refund'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'three piece suit' (should be 'a three-piece suit'), 'colorful flowers design' (should be 'colorful floral design'), and 'marriage function' (which is slightly unnatural; 'wedding' is preferred). Additionally, there are minor punctuation and article errors throughout the text. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they occur frequently enough to limit your score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles to enhance your accuracy.

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

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