Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-13

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 / madam,

today I am writing this letter to inform you that last week I bought some clothes from your company, which was not in good condition.

To start with, last week I was making plan with my family members to celebrate my sister birthday on 28 september. Then I decided to give her favourite clothes. similary, I went at your store for buying few dresses which seems to me really nice. I bought 3 pairs of dresses for her in pink colour. The price of each dress was similar which starts from 2000 that was affordable.

After visiting at home when i opened the box to show this dress to my family , i was totally shocked to see the dress becuase there was a large holl in the front side of the kurta.

I am requesting to you please change this dresses immidiately so i can give my sister birthday gift on time. However, i do not want to sad her on her special day.

i hope you will focus on it .

thanks for your appreciation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The candidate addresses all three bullet points required by the prompt. First, details of the purchase are provided, mentioning that three pairs of dresses were bought last week in pink colour for 2000 each. Second, the problem is described clearly when the student notes that upon opening the box, there was a large hole in the front side of the kurta. Third, the urgency for a replacement is explained by stating the need to give the gift on time for the sister's birthday on September 28 without making her sad. While some ideas like the planning process are slightly expanded in a narrative rather than strictly formal business style, all parts of the task are well covered and clearly communicated.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter demonstrates a clear overall progression and addresses the prompt sequentially. However, paragraphing is somewhat inadequate, as much of the letter is clustered into a single long block after the salutation. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, although some transitions feel a bit basic or repetitive, such as 'Then I decided' and 'After visiting at home'. Referencing is generally clear, but mechanical errors in linking sentences prevent the response from achieving a higher band. Overall, the organization is coherent enough to guide the reader through the narrative without confusion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, though it tends to be basic and contains several inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For instance, the phrase 'went at your store' is unnatural and should be 'went to your store', and 'large holl' contains a spelling error. The student attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'affordable' and 'immidiately', but these are hindered by spelling mistakes ('immediatly') and minor lexical slips. While the intended message is fully conveyed, the range remains somewhat limited and repetitive.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as the relative clause 'which seems to me really nice' and the conditional/time clause structure in 'when i opened the box... i was totally shocked'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb tenses ('was making plan', 'did not want to sad her'), prepositions ('at your store', 'in the front side'), and pluralisation ('this dresses'). Punctuation and capitalization are also inconsistent throughout the text. These errors occasionally cause slight awkwardness, though they do not impede overall communication.

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

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