Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-19

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,

I hope this finds you well. I would like to bring to your attention that, I bought a jacket online form your online website and honestly I was not satisfied by my purchase.

I recenlty bought a new collaboration themed tech- fleece jacket from the website. It was red and black color. The jacket size was M and it cost me for around 150$ + tax. So, in total

it was $175.

When I received the order, I was not satisfied by the quality of the product. Because, the online version was dark in the color and in reality jacket looed so dull. In addition, there was a small whole in the bottom. Therefore, I would like to replace this item with the other black naruto themed tech-fleece jacket.

I am leaving for my home country next monday and I dont want to miss this jacket as this is a birthday present for my young sister. She really love this.

Thank you for considering my request.

Your faithfully,

Maksud Malek

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The candidate successfully covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. First, details of the purchase are provided, including the item type, color, size, and cost ('collaboration themed tech- fleece jacket... red and black color... $175'). Second, the problem is clearly described regarding both the color discrepancy ('online version was dark in the color and in reality jacket looed so dull') and a physical defect ('a small whole in the bottom'). Third, the urgency for a replacement is explained by stating the departure date and the reason for the item ('I am leaving for my home country next monday and I dont want to miss this jacket as this is a birthday present'). The tone is appropriate for a formal complaint letter. All parts of the task are adequately addressed, earning a solid band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter follows a clear logical organization with appropriate paragraphing that separates the introduction, purchase details, problem description, urgency, and closing. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as 'In addition', 'Therefore', and 'So, in total'. However, paragraphing could be slightly more polished, and there are occasional mechanical cohesive ties. Referencing is generally clear, and the overall progression of information flows logically from the background of the purchase to the specific issues and subsequent request for a replacement item.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The candidate demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating specific clothing-related terms like 'tech-fleece jacket', 'collaboration themed', and 'size was M'. There are some spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'form' instead of 'from', 'recenlty', 'looed' instead of 'looked', and 'whole' instead of 'hole'. Despite these lexical errors, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the message clearly, and the candidate attempts some less common phrasing ('bring to your attention', 'satisfaction by my purchase'), placing this comfortably in the band 6 category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The letter features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating a decent command of English grammar. Examples of successful complex structures include 'I would like to bring to your attention that, I bought a jacket...' and 'When I received the order, I was not satisfied...'. However, there are several grammatical and punctuation errors throughout the text, such as unnecessary commas ('attention that, I'), spelling mistakes, missing apostrophes ('dont'), and capitalization issues ('monday'). While these errors are noticeable, they rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to easily follow the complaint.

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

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