Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-25

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 7.5)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter to discuss regarding my recent purchase of a formal shirt from The Mend brand last week.

I ordered a medium sized red checked shirt on June 20th through your shopping website. I found The Mend brand on social media as it was promoted highly by a lot of consumers. Hence, I decided to go for it without giving much thought to it. Upon arrival of the product, I observed that the delivery package was tampered by someone. Immediately, I complained it to the respective delivery person but it was in vain. Furthermore, opening the package revealed some dirty patches across the red shirt as if it was used by someone else earlier.

The shirt was a gift for my close friend Sam on the occasion of his birthday which is on the 30th of June. He is interested in your clothing collections as he is the sole reason to why I am buying from The Mend in the first place. I will be grateful for your kindness if you can arrange a replacement before the 30th of this month.

Yours sincerely,

John

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The candidate successfully covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. First, details of the purchase are clearly provided, including the brand name, the item type, size, colour, and the exact date of order on June 20th. Second, the problem is well described, detailing the tampered delivery package and the discovery of dirty patches on the shirt. Third, the need for an urgent replacement is effectively explained by stating that the item is a birthday gift for a close friend on June 30th. The tone is appropriate for a formal complaint letter, and the purpose is sustained throughout. The response fully addresses all requirements of the task without any omissions, earning a solid band score for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5

The letter demonstrates a clear and logical organisation from beginning to end. Paragraphing is used effectively and appropriately, with a clear separation of introduction, details of the purchase and problem, explanation of urgency, and sign-off. Cohesive devices such as 'Hence', 'Upon arrival', 'Furthermore', and 'As a result' are managed well to guide the reader through the sequence of events. Referencing is clear, and the overall progression of ideas flows naturally. The letter is cohesive without being overly mechanical, ensuring that the reader can easily follow the narrative and purpose of the complaint.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The student uses an adequate and natural range of vocabulary suitable for a formal complaint letter. Expressions such as 'formal shirt', 'tampered', 'dirty patches', and 'replacement' demonstrate good control. However, there are a few minor lexical inaccuracies and slightly unnatural phrasing, such as 'discuss regarding' (instead of 'discuss' or 'write concerning') and 'complained it to' (instead of 'complained about it to'). Despite these occasional slips, the vocabulary is sufficiently flexible to convey precise meaning and allows communication to proceed smoothly without any impediment, meeting the criteria for a band 7.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.5

The candidate displays a good mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and participial phrases such as 'Upon arrival of the product, I observed that...' and 'The shirt was a gift for my close friend Sam on the occasion of his birthday which is on the 30th of June.' There is a good degree of grammatical control, with the majority of sentences being error-free. Punctuation and verb tenses are handled correctly for the most part. Minor slips are rare and do not impede communication, placing the response comfortably within the band 8 range for grammatical accuracy and structural variety.

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