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.

I hope you are doing well. I would like to request you to replace my order that I have placed last week. I have made online purchase of clothing on 10th September which was delivered on time. However, I have received wrong size of T-shirt. I really like formal pants but I am upset with wrong size of t-shirt.

My purchased order is C29. It is very frustrating because I have planned to wear new pair on my friends party which is arranged on upcoming weekend. I would not receive anything if I place another order and it is very stressful. Could you please arrange the pick of of my wrong size t-shirt and deliver me the right one within 3 days. It would be really appreciated if you can make it happen.

Please find the purchased order attached to this email and let me know if you need any other information.

Thank you

Kind regards,

Vaibhav

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The student successfully covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. They provide details of the purchase by stating the date of the transaction and the order number 'C29'. The problem is clearly described, noting that they received the wrong size of T-shirt despite ordering correctly. Furthermore, the need for a replacement is explained urgently due to an upcoming weekend party for which they planned to wear the new items. The tone is appropriate for a formal complaint letter, and all parts of the task are well-developed without any major omissions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter maintains a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Ideas are grouped into sensible paragraphs: the opening introduces the purpose of the letter, the second paragraph details the problem and urgency, and the final paragraph offers closing administrative details. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'However' and 'which'. However, referencing is slightly loose in places, such as 'I really like formal pants' which introduces a sudden shift from the T-shirt issue, and 'pick of' contains a typographical cohesion error. Nevertheless, overall cohesion is sufficient for a band 6.5 to 7.0 descriptor range.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases such as 'online purchase', 'frustrating', and 'stressful'. However, there are some minor word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as writing 'pick of' instead of 'pick-up' and 'friends party' lacking an apostrophe. While the vocabulary is generally sufficient to communicate the message clearly, it remains somewhat basic and lacks the flexibility and precision associated with higher band levels.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as the relative clause in 'that I have placed last week' and the conditional structure 'if you can make it happen'. There are several grammatical errors present, including tense inconsistencies ('that I have placed' should be 'that I placed' or 'that I had placed') and missing articles ('size of T-shirt'). Punctuation also needs minor attention, such as missing the apostrophe in 'friends party'. These errors do not impede communication, placing the grammar solidly at band 6.0.

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

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