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 am writing to express dissatisfaction of my recent purchase. I ordered navy blue pant and medium size of t-shirt but I have received extra small t-shirt and Black pant. Pant has clearly tear near to the pocket and it's very uncomfortable to wear it. Additionlly, Parcel was damaged when I have received it which suggest that it was not taken care properly during the transit.

My purchase order is C29. I have placed online order on 20th September which was delivered on time but due to wrong size and color, I couldn't use it. It is frustrating. Could you please send me the replacement as soon as possible as I had planned to wear it on friend's party on upcoming weekend.

I will be waiting for your response. Please send someone to collect this order and provide me the replacement. I would appreciate your help.

Thank you for your co-ordination.

Kind regards,

Vaibhav

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The student has successfully addressed all three bullet points required in the task instructions. The letter begins by providing the details of the purchase, including the order number C29 and the date ordered. Next, it clearly describes the problems encountered, noting that the wrong size and color of the t-shirt were received, the pant was the wrong color, and there was a tear near the pocket alongside a damaged parcel. Finally, the need for an urgent replacement is explained by mentioning a planned attendance at a friend's party on the upcoming weekend. The tone is appropriately formal for a business complaint letter, and all requirements are sufficiently covered, earning a solid band 7.0 for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter maintains a clear overall progression and coherent structure, organized into sensible paragraphs. The purpose of the writing is established immediately, followed by specific details in the subsequent paragraph. Cohesive devices are used, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical or abrupt, such as the sudden shift into the delivery details. Referencing is generally clear, though minor improvements in linking sentences together could enhance the flow. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the main points from the call to action, fitting the descriptor profile for a Band 6.5 or 7.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a complaint letter, using terms such as 'dissatisfaction,' 'replacement,' and 'transit.' However, there are notable word-choice and collocation errors, such as 'navy blue pant' (should be plural 'pants' or 'trousers'), 'extra small t-shirt' (missing hyphen), and 'tear near to the pocket' (unnatural preposition, 'tear near the pocket' is better). Additionally, 'co-ordination' is misused at the end; 'assistance' or 'cooperation' would be more accurate. While these errors do not impede communication, they reflect a Band 6 level of lexical resource.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as the conditional-style explanation 'Could you please send me the replacement as soon as possible as I had planned...' However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several article errors and missing pluralizations ('express dissatisfaction of my recent purchase,' 'navy blue pant,' 'Black pant'). Furthermore, there is a capitalization error ('Additionlly,' 'Black pant') and punctuation slips. Although communication is never impeded, the frequency of basic grammatical slips keeps this criterion at a Band 6.0.

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

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