Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-03

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 Thompson

I hope you are doing well.

I am writing this email to request an urgent replacement for a cotton jacket, which I bought online through your website. However, before ordering this jacket from your website, I did a lot of research on other platforms, and I went in-person to many locations, but my friend told me about your company and quality provided by you. Furthermore, I was very excited at the time of delivery day.

On the other hand, when I got the parcel and I opened it the color of that jacket was totally different from what I chose. I ordered a black color on the website, although I got dark blue. Moreover, I am just requesting you that, please replace this jacket color with black as soon as possible. There is a school function after three days. I do not have enough time to wait.

Thank you for your time and consideration, I look forward to hearing from you.

Kuljeet Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points: the purchase details, the problem with the color, and the urgency due to a school function. However, the development is somewhat uneven. The first paragraph contains irrelevant information about the research process and the friend's recommendation, which does not contribute to the task requirements. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal complaint, though the opening 'Dear Sir Thompson' is slightly unusual; 'Dear Sir or Madam' or 'Dear Customer Service Team' would be more standard. The purpose of the letter is clear, and the request for a replacement is explicitly stated.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the narrative. Cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'On the other hand', and 'Moreover' are used to link ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical or forced, particularly the shift from the research process to the delivery. The referencing is generally clear, though the flow between the background information and the actual complaint could be smoother. Overall, the progression of ideas is logical, and the paragraphing is sufficient for a letter of this length.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate the issue clearly. There are some basic collocations used correctly, such as 'urgent replacement' and 'time and consideration'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'delivery day' instead of 'the day of delivery' or 'the quality provided by you'. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the message without difficulty, but it lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The letter uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'I ordered a black color on the website, although I got dark blue' (which should be 'I ordered a black jacket... but I received a dark blue one') and 'I am just requesting you that, please replace'. Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some awkward phrasings that slightly impede the flow. While the errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the message, they are frequent enough to suggest a need for more careful proofreading of basic sentence construction.

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.