Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-21

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 the recent purchase that I made from Alibay, costs around 40$.

Unfortunately, it was made up of very cheap fabric and somewhere the color was faded as well. It was a pink colored summer knee length dress with soft pastel colors infused in it. This caused me great inconvenience as I planned to wear this dress for a family function which is in few days.

Furthermore, it was totally unexpected for me to receive such product as I am a regular customer and usually purchases everything through your site and a loyal fan of this company.

I would appreciate if you could replace the dress or provide me refund for the same. I have downloaded and printed the receipts for further clarification. I have shared my e-mail as well annie345@hot mail.com in case you need to reach me out. I believe you will look into this matter to avoid future problems and to keep loyal customers.

Hope to listen from you promptly and kind consideration.

Yours faithfully

Ramandeep Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points: providing purchase details, describing the defects, and explaining the urgency of the replacement. The tone is appropriate for a formal complaint. However, the development of ideas is slightly uneven; while the problem is described, the explanation of the urgency could be more persuasive. The purpose of the letter is clear from the outset, and the writer maintains a consistent stance throughout. To reach a higher band, ensure that the details provided are more precise and that the urgency is linked more directly to the specific event mentioned.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter follows a logical progression, moving from the purchase details to the problem, then to the request for action. Paragraphing is used to separate these distinct ideas, which helps the reader follow the argument. Cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore' and 'Unfortunately' are used to link sentences, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The referencing is generally clear, though the flow between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother. Overall, the structure is coherent and the message is easy to follow throughout the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey the necessary information clearly. There are some attempts at more specific vocabulary, such as 'dissatisfaction' and 'inconvenience'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'reach me out' instead of 'reach out to me' and 'costs around 40$' (the dollar sign should precede the number). The range is sufficient to communicate the message, but it lacks the sophistication and precision required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The letter contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'usually purchases everything' (subject-verb agreement) and 'somewhere the color was faded' (awkward phrasing). Punctuation is generally functional, though there are minor issues with comma usage, such as the unnecessary comma after 'dissatisfaction'. The majority of sentences are understandable, but the frequency of these small errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and more natural sentence construction would improve the score.

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

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