Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-27

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 writing to express my dissatisfaction with my recent online purchase through your website on April 15th. I heard a lot about your product quality and reasonable prices through some of my friends. Therefore, I ordered some t-shirts last week for my college attire. I was extremely excited and genuinely happy to get my parcel on Aril 25th as per the confirmation email.

However, upon arrival, I was really disappointed because of the sizes, which were too large for me. I ordered a small size after matching my exact size to the description given below the picture.

I would like to get a replacement within two weeks. Because my college classes will be starting, and I have not bought other clothes due to shortage of money. If there is any particular criterion that I need to follow to return these product, let me know as soon as possible. So that, this issue get solved immediately.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Rahul

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: providing purchase details, describing the sizing issue, and explaining the urgency of the replacement. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter of complaint. The ideas are relevant and clearly presented, ensuring the reader understands the situation and the desired outcome. To reach a higher band, you could provide more specific details about the order, such as an order number, to make the request feel more authentic and professional.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter follows a logical progression, moving from the introduction of the purchase to the problem and finally the request for action. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate these distinct ideas. You use some cohesive devices like 'However' and 'Therefore' to link sentences. However, the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that transitions between sentences are smoother. For example, the final paragraph could be better integrated with the preceding one to improve the overall cohesion of your request.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'dissatisfaction', 'confirmation email', and 'attire'. There are some minor spelling errors, such as 'Aril' instead of 'April', and some slightly awkward phrasing, such as 'shortage of money' which could be expressed more naturally. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the sophistication or precision required for higher bands. Focusing on more precise collocations and avoiding repetitive phrasing will help improve your score in this area.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is good. However, there are several grammatical slips that occur throughout the text. For instance, 'I writing to express' is missing the auxiliary verb 'am', and 'this issue get solved' should be 'this issue gets solved' or 'this issue can be solved'. Additionally, the sentence 'Because my college classes will be starting...' is a sentence fragment. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Proofreading for subject-verb agreement and complete sentence structures is essential.

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.