Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-07

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 am writing this letter to express my dissatisfaction regarding the purchase, that I experienced with your company.

I purchased two polo T-shirts, one white shirt and two blue jeans from your company by using online application. I did this transaction on last Friday and the date was 21st May. The total price of all clothes was $120, which I paid through my credit card online.

Firstly, the package arrived two days later then its scheduled time. The main concern is quality and color of the clothes, which is entirely different from the description provided on website. Although, size is another issue but major problem is poor quality.

I would like to request for full refund of the money I paid and the arrangement for pickup these clothes. I believe this was total waste of money, because I will not able to wear these clothes due to wrong size and poor quality.

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from soon.

Your faithfully,

Jasmeet Singh,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the task. You provided details of the purchase, described the quality and size issues, and requested a refund. However, the third bullet point regarding the need for an urgent replacement was not fully addressed; you requested a refund instead of a replacement, which contradicts the prompt's instruction to explain why you need a replacement urgently. To improve, ensure you align your response strictly with all specific instructions provided in the prompt. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter of complaint.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into paragraphs, each serving a clear purpose. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly' and 'Although' to connect ideas. However, the flow is occasionally hindered by minor errors in referencing and sentence structure, such as 'the package arrived two days later then its scheduled time' (should be 'than'). The transition between the description of the problem and the request for a refund is clear, but the overall progression could be smoother with a wider variety of linking words and more precise referencing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'dissatisfaction', 'transaction', and 'scheduled time'. There are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'by using online application' (should be 'via your online application') and 'arrangement for pickup these clothes' (should be 'arranging for these clothes to be picked up'). While these errors do not impede communication, they limit the precision of your writing. Expanding your vocabulary to include more formal business collocations would help elevate your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'I will not able to wear' (missing 'be'), 'Your faithfully' (should be 'Yours faithfully'), and 'hearing from soon' (should be 'hearing from you soon'). Additionally, there are punctuation and article errors, such as 'on website' (should be 'on the website'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not prevent the reader from understanding your message. To reach a higher band, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles and prepositions.

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

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