Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-12

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 to express my immense dissatisfaction regarding the recent purchase from your online store.

One of my friends recommended me your webstore to purchase a birthday dress. I was extremely excited as it was my 18th birthday and I wanted everything to be perfect, especially my dress. Although I received many positive reviews about your store, my experience was very disappointing.

Despite choosing pink dress and asking for necessary alterations, dress arrived in red color with unfinished stitching. Additionally, I paid extra for express shipping so that the parcel arrives on time. However, it was extremely delayed and I received it 3 days later than the expected date of delivery.

I would really appreciate it if you could provide me full refund as I would like to return this item. Also, I recommend you to pay close attention to customer's preferences and improve your delivery method.

I look forward to your response.

Yours faithfully,

Navjot kaur.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points of the prompt: purchase details, the specific problems (color and stitching), and the need for a replacement/refund. The tone is appropriate for a formal complaint. However, the third bullet point regarding the urgency of the replacement is not fully developed. While you mention the dress was for your 18th birthday, you do not explicitly explain why you still need a replacement urgently now that the birthday has passed. Expanding on this would have provided a more logical justification for your request.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the purchase details from the issues and the desired resolution. Cohesive devices such as 'Although', 'Despite', and 'Additionally' are used to link ideas. However, the flow could be improved by using more varied transitions between the description of the problem and the request for a refund to ensure a smoother progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly, such as 'immense dissatisfaction', 'unfinished stitching', and 'express shipping'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'recommended me your webstore' (should be 'recommended your webstore to me') and 'provide me full refund' (should be 'provide me with a full refund'). These errors do not impede communication but suggest a need for more precise control over common collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical slips, particularly with articles (e.g., 'choosing pink dress' should be 'choosing a pink dress', 'in red color' should be 'in a red color') and verb tense consistency. While these errors are noticeable, they do not prevent the reader from understanding your meaning. To reach a higher band, focus on consistent article usage and ensuring subject-verb agreement in more complex sentences.

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

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