Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-25

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,

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the items I bought from your e-commerce platform. I ordered multiple clothing pieces, which included a few t-shirts, dresses and some accessories. The total amount of the bill came out to be approximately $300.

There are a few issues, but the major one would definitely be the quality of the products, since it does not feel worthy for the price I paid. The t-shirts have shrunken after one wash and even the color came off. I have wore them once but now they look like I am wearing some junk. Moreover, when i called the customer service about it, they turned out to be of no help and just said sorry for the frustrating experience.

I would highly appreciate if you could provide me with an immediate replacement of the items because I ordered a few of them as a gift someone really close to me. And the organization should compensate for the inconvenience this order has cause to my mental health.

Thankyou for your urgent attention to this matter and I look forward to a swift response.

Yours sincerely,

Damanpreet Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. You provided details of the purchase, described the quality issues, and explained the need for an urgent replacement. However, the tone is slightly inconsistent; while the complaint is clear, the mention of 'mental health' is hyperbolic and inappropriate for a formal business letter, which detracts from the professional tone expected in this task. The purpose is clear, and the reader is left in no doubt about your requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the purchase details from the problem description and the request for action. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Moreover' and 'because', which help the flow of ideas. However, the transition between the complaint about customer service and the request for a replacement could be smoother. Overall, the message is easy to follow, and the progression of ideas is logical throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'express my dissatisfaction' and 'swift response' are appropriate for a formal letter. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'worthy for the price' (should be 'worth the price') and 'have wore them' (should be 'have worn'). The use of 'junk' is slightly informal for this context. Expanding your range of precise adjectives and ensuring correct verb forms would help elevate your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. For example, 'the total amount of the bill came out to be' is wordy, and 'the color came off' is slightly informal. There are also errors in verb tense and agreement, such as 'have wore' and 'this order has cause' (should be 'caused'). Despite these errors, they do not impede communication, and the structure of the letter remains functional.

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

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