Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-30

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 am writing to express my dissatisfaction with clothes which I bought online from your website.

Last week, I order a suit from your website. The suit was black in colour with white shirt. I bought this suit because I got thirty percent discount on my whole shopping. Intially, I was very happy with my purchase because I saved about 2000 rupees.

However, when I received the parcel, I was very sad because the size of the suit was different. Although, I ordered large size, I received small one. Additionally, the colour was not same as mentioned on the website.

I would appreciate it if you could deliver the correct suit as soon as possible. Actually, I need this suit urgently, I particularly order this suit to attend my cousin wedding which will be on next friday. Can you please let me know if it is available on your offline store? I would be happy to pick it up at my earliest convenience.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your response.

Yours faithfully,

Parminder

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The candidate successfully covers all bullet points required by the task. They provide details of the purchase ('Last week, I order a suit...'), describe the problem clearly ('the size of the suit was different. Although, I ordered large size, I received small one'), and explain the urgency of needing a replacement ('I particularly order this suit to attend my cousin wedding'). The tone is appropriately formal and polite for a complaint letter. The purpose is clear from the beginning and maintained throughout. The response satisfies all requirements of Task Achievement and achieves a solid Band 7.0 for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter is logically organised with a clear beginning, middle, and end, making good use of paragraphing to separate distinct ideas such as the purchase, the problem, and the solution. Cohesive devices are used adequately, including transition words like 'However', 'Additionally', and 'Actually'. While paragraph transitions flow reasonably well, some referencing could be smoother, and a few cohesive devices feel slightly mechanical. Overall, the text demonstrates clear logical progression throughout, warranting a Band 6.5 descriptor match.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, with attempts at less common phrases such as 'express my dissatisfaction', 'thirty percent discount', and 'at my earliest convenience'. However, there are minor lexical and collocation errors, such as 'whole shopping' instead of 'entire purchase' and 'offline store' instead of 'physical store'. Spelling is generally accurate, but minor word-choice inaccuracies place this performance firmly within the Band 6.0 category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and subordinate clauses ('Although, I ordered large size, I received small one'). However, there are notable grammatical errors, including tense consistency ('I order' instead of 'ordered') and preposition/article omissions ('attend my cousin wedding' instead of 'my cousin's wedding', 'small one' instead of 'a small one'). These errors do not impede communication, but they occur frequently enough to prevent the writing from reaching a higher band. This corresponds to a Band 6.0 score.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.