Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

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 trouser. Pant has clearly tear near to the pocket and it's very uncomfortable to wear it. Additionally, Parcel was damaged when I 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 coordination.

Kind regards,

Vaibhav

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all three bullet points required in the task instructions. You successfully provided details of the purchase, such as the order number C29 and the order date of 20th September, described the specific problems with the clothing including the wrong size, incorrect color, and a tear near the pocket, and explained why a replacement is needed urgently for a friend's party on the upcoming weekend. The tone is appropriately formal for a complaint letter, though it starts with 'Dear Sir,' despite the prompt indicating 'Dear Sir or Madam,'. All parts of the task are adequately addressed, earning a solid Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter maintains a generally coherent overall arrangement with clear logical progression from stating the problem to providing order details and finally requesting a replacement. Paragraphing is used to separate the main points. However, some cohesive devices and referencing are a bit mechanical or missing. For instance, 'Pant has clearly tear' lacks a proper article or plural form, and transitions between sentences could be smoother. Overall, the organization is clear enough to guide the reader through the complaint without confusion, fitting the Band 6.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting words and phrases like 'express dissatisfaction', 'frustrating', and 'transit'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'navy blue pant' (should be 'pants' or 'trousers'), 'medium size of t-shirt' (should be 'a medium-sized t-shirt'), and 'not taken care properly' (should be 'not handled properly'). These errors do not impede communication, but they reflect a Band 5.5 level of lexical control where less common items are not yet fully mastered.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response includes a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'I am writing to express...' and 'Could you please send me the replacement as soon as possible as I had planned...'. There are several grammatical errors throughout, including missing articles ('Pant has clearly tear'), incorrect singular/plural usage ('Black trouser'), and minor preposition slips ('near to' instead of 'near'). Although these errors are noticeable and occur with some frequency, they rarely impede overall communication, placing your grammar performance firmly at Band 5.5.

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

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