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 hope you are doing well!

I am writing this letter to you about my experience of buying some clothes from your online store.

I am very disappointed with the purchase from your store and I have a strong reason for this. I bought my dress to wear on a reception party, which was one of the most trending hot section listed on your website's front page. First of all, even though I place an order on time, well before the date I wanted, it still got delivered after two days to the date it showed as estimated delivery time. Secondly, even when I received it, the colour was different. I ordered the blue one and instead I got low quality red coloured one. Even the texture of the cloth was not the same as it shows on the image displayed on the item on your website page.

To settle this down, I urge you to make a replacement urgently without any external charges. As, it was your company's mistake and you should be accountable for this.

With regards,

Gurpreet

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all three bullet points of the task. You clearly identified the purchase, described the specific issues regarding delivery and product quality, and explained the urgency of the replacement. The tone is appropriate for a formal complaint letter. To reach a higher band, you could provide more specific details, such as an order number or the specific date of the event, to make the request more professional and realistic. Overall, the purpose of the letter is clear and the requirements are fully met.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. You use transition signals such as 'First of all', 'Secondly', and 'To settle this down' to guide the reader through your points. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the different aspects of the complaint. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical. To improve, you could vary your linking words and ensure that the flow between sentences is smoother, particularly in the second paragraph where the transition between the delivery issue and the product quality issue could be more refined.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'trending hot section' and 'accountable for this' are relevant. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'reception party' (usually just 'reception') and 'low quality red coloured one' (which lacks an article). The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the sophistication or precision required for higher bands. Expanding your use of more precise adjectives and formal business collocations would enhance 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, such as 'I place an order' (should be past tense 'placed'), 'after two days to the date' (awkward phrasing), and 'as it shows on the image' (should be 'as shown'). Punctuation is generally correct, but some sentence constructions are slightly unnatural. To improve, focus on consistent tense usage and refining your sentence structure to avoid minor errors that occur throughout the text.

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.