Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

Dear Sir,

I am writing this letter to you to express my dissatisfaction about the purchase of some clothes from your company online.

Actually, I ordered some clothing items from your company's website on 20 August 2026 and got them delivered to my address just two days ago. The order included a satin dress, two pairs of linen pants and two cotton shirts for women, which I expected would be perfect for me as the quality was spoused to great and I paid a fair amount of money for that.

When I opened the parcel and tried on all the clothes, my excitement went away and I felt extremely disappointed with the quality of the satin dress, which was shown to be very delicate and silky, but the fabric was too thin and cheap. Moreover the size of the linen pants is too small for me and not the ones I ordered. The shirts were missing form the parcel as well.

So, I am demanding an urgent replacement of my order at the earliest as I am planning to go on international vacation next week and I do not have much time left to shop from anywhere else and I paid for the express shipment as well.

I look for to hearing from you and thank you very much for your anticipated cooperation.

Regards,

HK.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The response covers all three bullet points effectively. You clearly identified the purchase details, described the specific issues with the quality, size, and missing items, and provided a logical reason for the urgency of the replacement. The tone is appropriate for a formal complaint letter. The purpose of the letter is clear from the beginning, and the ideas are well-developed throughout the response. You have successfully fulfilled all requirements of the task prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task, which helps the reader follow your argument easily. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Moreover' and 'So' to link your points. However, the transition between the description of the problem and the demand for a replacement could be smoother. The paragraphing is appropriate for a formal letter, and the overall structure is coherent throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'express my dissatisfaction' and 'anticipated cooperation' are appropriate for a formal context. There are a few minor errors, such as 'spoused to' (supposed to) and 'form' (from), which are likely slips rather than a lack of knowledge. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise collocations or less common vocabulary related to retail and customer service, such as 'defective', 'rectify', or 'inconvenience'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is good. Most of your sentences are error-free and easy to understand. There are a few grammatical slips, such as 'I look for to hearing' (I look forward to hearing) and 'the quality was spoused to great' (the quality was supposed to be great). These errors do not impede communication, but they do show a need for more careful proofreading of verb forms and prepositions. Your control of punctuation is generally sound.

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

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