Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-16

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 6.0)

Dear sir or madam,

My name is Kushang Patel and I am your customer . Actually I order a tracking shoes of your brand through website. The shoes colour is navy blue which is attractive and quality is also excellent as your website shows, overall shoes is branded and good looking.

The issue is I am facing that you delivered me wrong size shoes as I ordered UK-9 size and when I received courier it was UK 8 so, its huge difference in size even I can't wear it smoothly and can't feel comfortable while wearing it. Please give to look my this issue and try to resolve it in fast process as I have a camp after 9 days, this shoes is necessary for me to bring in camp as I don't have any alternative option. Dear sir or madam please try to solve this issue and resend me Uk-9 size in this shoes.

your customer ,

Kushang Patel

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the task: providing purchase details, describing the size error, and explaining the urgency of the replacement. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter of complaint. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For example, while you mention the need for the shoes for a camp, providing a bit more detail about the specific nature of the event or the inconvenience caused would have strengthened the response. The purpose of the letter is clear, and the reader understands exactly what you require from the company.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical sections, moving from the purchase details to the problem and finally the request for action. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite limited and sometimes mechanical. Phrases like 'Actually' and 'The issue is I am facing that' feel a bit unnatural. Paragraphing is present, but the transitions between sentences could be smoother to improve the flow of your argument. Using a wider variety of linking words such as 'consequently', 'furthermore', or 'therefore' would help connect your ideas more effectively and improve the overall coherence of the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message, such as 'attractive', 'excellent', and 'alternative option'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'tracking shoes' (likely meaning 'trekking' or 'running' shoes) and 'give to look my this issue'. These errors occasionally hinder the precision of your writing. To reach a higher band, you should focus on using more natural collocations and ensuring that your word choices are contextually accurate. Expanding your vocabulary to include more specific terms related to retail and customer service would also be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

Your writing contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Issues include incorrect article usage ('the shoes colour'), subject-verb agreement ('this shoes is'), and awkward phrasing ('it was UK 8 so, its huge difference'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the placement of commas and capitalization. While these errors do not completely prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they are frequent enough to impact the clarity of your writing. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors would significantly improve your score.

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

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