Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-02

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 am writing to make a complaint on the new padded laced dinner dress your company released last month. I recently purchased that exact dress, it is a colored Black mixed with silver designs around it, which also came with a spiral fish tailed cape for styling.

I am particularly heartbroken on this laced dress. This is because I received my dress last nights from the DHL company and it just came to my notice that I was given a smaller size, despite placing an order for a size 10 but I was sent a size 6 which is way too small for me. It was not also padded making it double problem for me and my Prom is in two days, am very unhappy because this dress costs quite a fortune for me and my family.

I would be grateful, if you could provide a replacement urgently due to my Prom/ graduation party is in two days and am suppose to give a speech wearing my Laced padded dinner gown from your company as am representing my class as the lead student. Please come to my aid and give me the exact dress I placed order for

I look forward to hearing from you and thank you in advanced for your assistance.

Yours Faithfully,

Elizabeth Amaka Martins

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 (wrong size and missing padding), and explained the urgency regarding your upcoming Prom. The tone is appropriate for a formal complaint letter. To reach a higher band, ensure that the details provided are more concise and avoid repetitive phrasing, such as mentioning the 'two days' deadline multiple times. Overall, the purpose of the letter is clear and the requirements are fully met.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each serving a specific purpose. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'This is because' and 'I would be grateful', to link your ideas. However, the flow is occasionally interrupted by slightly awkward transitions or repetitive sentence structures. For instance, the transition between the description of the dress and the problem could be smoother. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph flows naturally into the next would enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'padded laced dinner dress' and 'spiral fish tailed cape'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'making it double problem' instead of 'compounding the problem' or 'costs quite a fortune' which is slightly informal. While your meaning is always clear, the vocabulary lacks the precision and natural collocation expected at higher bands. Focusing on learning fixed phrases for formal complaints will help improve your lexical range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include 'I received my dress last nights' (pluralization error), 'am very unhappy' (missing subject 'I'), and 'am suppose to' (incorrect verb form). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. You should focus on subject-verb agreement and ensuring that auxiliary verbs are used correctly in your sentences.

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

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