Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-18

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,

A week ago, I bought a red corset sleeveless knee length dress in medium size from your store from Crossiron Mills from Calgary.

I always wear dress after a wash to maintain hygiene. After one wash as suggested on packing, the dress was shrinked from its original size and threads were came out from the corset part. It looks so ugly.

I bought this dress for my sister wedding which is next week. Me any my one cousin are wearing same outfit. I already shown her the dress and she is willingly wait for me to wear it on that special occassion. I really need an urgent replacement so that I can match her on that day.

Could you please replace this dress and send me the exact clothing piece in same size. I shall be very thankful to you.

Thank you.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task: providing purchase details, describing the problem, and explaining the urgency. However, the response is 144 words long, which falls short of the 150-word minimum requirement. This under-length impacts your score, as the task is not fully developed. To improve, you should expand on the details of the purchase or the impact of the damaged dress to ensure you comfortably exceed the word count. While the tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter, the brevity prevents a more comprehensive development of your ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical progression, moving from the purchase details to the problem and finally the requested solution. Paragraphing is present, though the structure is somewhat basic. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'After one wash' and 'Could you please', but the flow between sentences can feel a bit mechanical. To reach a higher band, try to use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that your paragraphs are more clearly defined to guide the reader through your argument more smoothly.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You use simple descriptors like 'looks so ugly' and 'exact clothing piece', which are functional but not sophisticated. There are also some minor word-choice errors, such as 'threads were came out' (should be 'threads were coming out') and 'willingly wait' (likely meant 'eagerly waiting'). To improve, focus on using more precise adjectives and verbs related to product quality and customer service, such as 'defective', 'deteriorated', or 'expedite'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

There are several grammatical errors throughout the text that affect clarity. For example, 'I always wear dress' is missing an article ('a dress'), and 'the dress was shrinked' is incorrect usage of the passive voice (should be 'had shrunk'). Additionally, 'Me any my one cousin' is grammatically incorrect; it should be 'My cousin and I'. While you attempt some complex sentence structures, the frequency of these errors is noticeable. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct verb tenses will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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