Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-06

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 6.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I hope you are doing well.

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with my clothes that i purchased from your online shop.

I ordered traditional clothes last week after recommended from my friend and it arrived the following day. fortunately, I purchased ethnic dresses and sarees for my brother wedding.

Unfortunately, the dress had different in size and the color of saree was different from my original order. I was extremely disappointed because I was looking forward to receiving this product.

It has caused me inconvenience because I expected good quality and service. I contected your customer service department several time but I have not received any proper response. i bought these clothes for my brother's wedding , so I have to replace it urgently I would be appreciate it if you could replace this product with good quality as soon as possible or if replacement not available provide me full refund.

I looking forward to your prompt response soon.

Yours faithfully,

Khushbu Patel

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You provided details of the purchase, clearly described the issues with size and color, and explained the urgency regarding your brother's wedding. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter of complaint. To reach a higher band, ensure that your ideas are slightly more developed; for instance, you could specify the order number or the exact date of the wedding to add more realism to the scenario. Overall, the purpose of the letter is clear and the requirements of the task are fully met.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical progression, moving from the purpose of the email to the specific problems and finally the desired resolution. Paragraphing is used, though the structure could be improved by separating the complaint details from the request for action more clearly. You use some cohesive devices like 'Unfortunately' and 'However', but the flow between sentences is occasionally mechanical. To improve, try using a wider variety of linking words to connect your ideas more fluidly, such as 'consequently' or 'furthermore', rather than relying on simple sentence structures.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your dissatisfaction effectively. You use some relevant terms like 'dissatisfaction', 'inconvenience', and 'prompt response'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'after recommended from my friend' (should be 'after a recommendation from my friend') and 'the dress had different in size' (should be 'the dress was the wrong size'). Expanding your range of descriptive adjectives and ensuring correct prepositional usage would help elevate your score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation. Examples include 'i purchased' (capitalization), 'brother wedding' (possessive 's' missing), 'contected' (spelling), and 'I would be appreciate it' (should be 'I would appreciate it'). Additionally, some sentences are slightly fragmented or run-on. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and consistent use of articles. Proofreading for basic errors like missing apostrophes and verb tense consistency will significantly improve the accuracy of your writing.

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

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