Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-10

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 writting to express my dissatisfaction regarding my recent purchase from your esteemed clothing company.

Since I heard your brand image from my friends, I shop instantly. I ordered three shirts in brown, green and lemon colours with matching pants in medium size. Every shirt has different print, motive and fabric.

I was excited for my parcel but unfortunately I received all the three shirts in small size and even the print on it was not look similar what I ordered . I was totally upset and disappointed from your companys biggest mistake. It was not expected from your organization.

Despite everythings went wrong, I would request you to send me my intial order as soon as possible because I have planned my coming trip according to these colour combinations. I do not want to ruin my friend theam holiday because of your companies mistake. Please send me the replacement with some discount or coupen to compensate this issue.

I hope you will look into this matter and try to reduce these kind of problems in future.

Yours faithfully,

Kamal

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter covers all three bullet points required by the prompt: details of the purchase, the nature of the problem, and the urgency of the replacement. The tone is appropriate for a formal complaint, and the purpose of the letter is clear from the outset. The ideas are developed sufficiently to meet the task requirements. However, the explanation for the urgency could be slightly more detailed to fully convince the reader, though it remains relevant and focused. Overall, the response effectively addresses the prompt and maintains a consistent, professional perspective throughout the letter.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task, which helps the reader follow the narrative. Cohesive devices such as 'Since', 'Despite', and 'However' are used, though some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The paragraphing is appropriate for a formal letter. While the flow is generally smooth, there are minor issues with referencing and sentence-level cohesion that prevent it from reaching a higher band. Overall, the information is presented in a coherent manner that is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to convey their message clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'esteemed' and 'compensate', which is positive. However, there are several spelling errors ('writting', 'motive' instead of 'motif', 'theam' instead of 'theme', 'coupen' instead of 'coupon') and some awkward collocations like 'I shop instantly'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do indicate a need for more careful proofreading and a wider range of precise vocabulary to reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'Since I heard your brand image' (incorrect preposition), 'print on it was not look similar' (incorrect verb tense/structure), and 'Despite everythings went wrong' (incorrect grammar). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but there are issues with possessive apostrophes ('companys', 'companies'). These errors are noticeable and occur throughout the text, though they rarely prevent the reader from understanding the intended meaning. More focus on subject-verb agreement and sentence construction is recommended.

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

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