Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-26

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 or Madam,

I am writing to express my strong dissatisfaction regarding a purchase I made last Sunday through your website.

I bought a pair of Nike sneakers, a oversized black Puma hoodie along with a Puma black trouser. Before buying, I carefully read all the reviews. Although there are a few one star reviews, most of the people rated 5 stars that is why I ordered those articles.

Today, I received the delivery, upon opening I was so disappointed to see the quality, especially trouser. In the description, they wrote that the fabric is pure cotton, but the one I received was polyester. Not only this, also I ordered UK 5 size for the shoes, instead, I received UK 7. It even made me more angry.

I spent a substantial amount of money on this purchase, and I have an event coming up soon for that I bought these products. I kindly request you to replace the wrong articles as soon as possible. My order no is ATD[redacted phone].

Thank you for you consideration. I am looking forward to replace these products promptly.

Yours faithfully,

Pooja Rani

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You provided details of the purchase (date, items, order number), described the specific problems (fabric discrepancy and incorrect shoe size), and explained the urgency regarding the upcoming event. The tone is appropriate for a formal complaint letter. The ideas are well-developed and the purpose of the letter is clear from the outset. You have maintained a consistent and professional tone throughout, which is essential for this task type.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each serving a distinct purpose. You use appropriate opening and closing salutations. Transitions between ideas are generally smooth, such as 'Not only this, also I ordered...' and 'I spent a substantial amount of money...'. While some cohesive devices are slightly mechanical, the overall progression of information is logical and easy to follow. The use of paragraphing is effective in separating the description of the purchase from the explanation of the issues and the final request.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary appropriate for a formal complaint, such as 'dissatisfaction', 'substantial amount', and 'promptly'. There are some minor collocation issues, such as 'a oversized' (should be 'an oversized') and 'the one I received was polyester' (which is grammatically fine but could be more precise, e.g., 'the item received was made of polyester'). Overall, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly and effectively, with a good attempt at using more sophisticated phrasing to express frustration.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'most of the people rated 5 stars that is why I ordered' (which is a run-on sentence) and 'for that I bought these products' (should be 'for which I bought these products'). Additionally, 'Thank you for you consideration' contains a minor pronoun error. However, these errors do not impede communication, and the majority of your sentences are clear and correctly structured. You show a good grasp of formal letter writing conventions.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.