Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-07

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 in regards to express my dissatisfaction for my recent purchase of a traditional suite from your company.

I ordered a red kurta set along with a stall from your website . It costs me $50 as I selected from the latest Indian wear collection. I placed a order for the medium size dress and it took 10 days until I receive my parcel. However, the package I received was of a different color and size. Also, the quality of the stuff was not good.

I was excited for my shopping as I need to wear this dress on my birthday party. It would be difficult for me to buy any other party wear clothing in such a short duration. Therefore, I would like to request for a immediate replacement so that I can enjoy my special day.

I hope you will consider my request on the urgent basses, and take some immediate action on it.

Yours sincerely,

Muskan Garg

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 (red kurta set, $50), described the problem (wrong color, size, and poor quality), and explained the urgency (birthday party). The tone is appropriate for a formal letter of complaint. To improve, ensure that the details provided are slightly more specific to enhance the professional tone, such as including an order number or the date of purchase. Overall, the task is fully covered, and the purpose of the letter is clear from the beginning.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each serving a specific purpose. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Also', and 'Therefore' to link your ideas. While the progression is clear, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical. To reach a higher band, try to vary your linking words and ensure that the transition between sentences feels more natural. For instance, instead of starting sentences with 'Also', you could integrate those points into the previous sentence to improve the flow of information.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to convey your message effectively. You use topic-specific terms like 'purchase', 'replacement', and 'dissatisfaction'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'stuff' (which is too informal for a complaint letter) and 'basses' (a spelling error for 'basis'). Additionally, 'suite' is likely a misspelling of 'suit'. To improve, focus on using more precise nouns and adjectives, and ensure that your spelling is accurate, as these small errors slightly detract from the professional tone of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'in regards to express' (should be 'in regard to expressing'), 'a order' (should be 'an order'), and 'a immediate' (should be 'an immediate'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede the reader's understanding of your complaint. To improve, pay closer attention to article usage (a/an) and verb forms following prepositions. Increasing the variety of complex sentence structures while maintaining accuracy will help you achieve a higher score.

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

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