Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-20

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 dissatisfaction with my recent purchase of linen shirt and oversize t-shirts. I ordered the clothing last week from your website and received different colour shirt. Also, I am missing one oversized t-shirt.

I ordered a sky blue color linen shirt. I’m traveling to Miami next week, and wanted to wear this shirt on a beach party. Since, the package came with a black colour shirt instead of blue. On the other side, I ordered three oversize t-shirts in black, green and white colour. But, I am missing the white colour t-shirt.

Therefore, I would like you to arrange an immediate replacement for my missing items. I could not travel to nearby store due to my workload and my flight is already scheduled for next week, I need my missing clothing as I will be attending business meeting and beach party at Miami. Should you require more details, I am happy to assist you further.

I am returning back the black shirt and my bill receipt is attached.

Kind regards,

Neel.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response covers all three bullet points required by the prompt: it details the purchase, describes the specific problems (wrong color and missing item), and explains the urgency due to upcoming travel. The tone is appropriate for a formal complaint letter. The ideas are clearly presented, and the purpose of the letter is immediately evident. To reach a higher band, the student could provide more specific details, such as an order number or a specific date of purchase, to make the complaint more professional and realistic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each serving a distinct purpose. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat basic and occasionally repetitive. For example, the transition 'On the other side' is used incorrectly to introduce a new point; 'Furthermore' or 'Additionally' would be more appropriate. While the paragraphing is effective, the overall flow could be improved with more varied linking words to connect sentences more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate the issues clearly. There are some minor collocation errors, such as 'returning back' (redundant) and 'different colour shirt' (missing article). The student uses some specific vocabulary related to the topic, such as 'dissatisfaction' and 'replacement'. To improve, the student should focus on using more precise collocations and avoiding redundant phrasing. The range is sufficient for the task but lacks the sophistication required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as missing articles ('a linen shirt', 'the beach party') and issues with prepositional usage ('at Miami' instead of 'in Miami'). Additionally, there are some punctuation and phrasing issues, such as the comma splice in 'Since, the package came...' and the awkward phrasing 'I could not travel to nearby store'. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score.

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

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