Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-22

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 hope you are doing well. Today i would like to let you know about my experience of online shopping of clothes from your store Limelite.

I bought my two dresses from Limelite.com yesterday which was about $3500. One is long gown type dress which was navy blue in colour and the another one was plazo suit which was torquoise colour, but i am not satisfied with the product you sent to me because the material of the suits are see through like very thin according to the price. Even i ordered for the torquoise colour and i recieved red in colour which is completely opposite to the colour i purchased online.

Therefore, i need a replacement immediately as i ordered it for the wedding function of my brother which is held on 26th september which is not so far. I would be appreciate with the shopping from your store if you can replace it as soon as possible.

Thanks

Your faithfully,

Asma

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response covers all three bullet points required by the prompt successfully. You provide details of the purchase, mentioning that you bought two dresses from Limelite for $3500 yesterday. You describe the problem clearly by explaining that the material of the suits is very thin and see-through, and that you received a red plazo suit instead of the turquoise one you ordered. Furthermore, you explain why you need a replacement urgently, stating that you need it for your brother's wedding on September 26th. The tone is appropriately formal for a complaint letter, and all requirements are fully addressed. Therefore, this meets the criteria for Band 6.5 or 7.0; looking closely at how well the ideas are extended and supported, it comfortably satisfies Band 7.0 as all parts are addressed with a clear purpose throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter maintains a clear overall progression from the opening statement to the purchase details, the problems encountered, the urgent request, and the closing sign-off. Paragraphing is used adequately to separate the introduction, the body describing the issues, and the conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Therefore', 'Even', and 'which', although some referencing is slightly repetitive and mechanical. For example, starting multiple clauses with 'which was' ('which was about $3500', 'which was navy blue', 'which was torquoise colour') disrupts the natural flow of cohesion. Nevertheless, the organisation is coherent overall and easy to follow, making Band 6.0 the most suitable score for this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items related to clothing and shopping, such as 'online shopping', 'see-through', 'replacement', and 'material'. However, there are some word-choice and spelling errors, such as spelling 'turquoise' as 'torquoise' and 'received' as 'recieved', along with awkward phrasings like 'I would be appreciate with the shopping'. While these errors do not impede communication, they reflect the limitations of Band 6. You attempt functional language to express dissatisfaction and urgency, but precision in collocation and spelling needs improvement to reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms throughout the letter, incorporating relative clauses introduced by 'that' and 'which'. However, there are noticeable grammatical errors and punctuation slips. For instance, 'Today i would like to let you know' contains a lowercase 'i', and 'the material of the suits are see through' has a subject-verb agreement error ('material' is singular, so it should be 'is'). Additionally, run-on structures like 'which is held on 26th september which is not so far' reduce the grammatical accuracy. Because these errors occur regularly alongside a decent mix of structures, but do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, a band score of 6.0 is warranted.

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

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