Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-01

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 hope you are doing well. I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with my recent purchase. I have recently purchased a Red leather jacket from your website as a Christmas present for my sister. I got it express-delivered to me so that I would have enough time to receive it and then send it to my sister as a gift.

Unfortunately, upon receiving the parcel, I found out that the jacket is damaged. It has incomplete stitching on the top left shoulder, which leaves a hole in it, and since the jacket is true size, the hole becomes very obvious upon wearing the jacket. I am very disappointed with the quality of my purchase. There is not enough time remaining for me to arrange a new present in this short period of time.

Could I please request an urgent replacement for this damaged item? Any prompt action in the resolution of the issue will be highly appreciated.

Looking forward to your response.

Regards

Smriti

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 8.0

You have covered all parts of the task well, providing appropriate details of the purchase, describing the problem clearly, and explaining the urgent need for a replacement. Your tone is suitably formal and polite for a complaint letter. For instance, you clearly specify the item as a 'Red leather jacket' and explain the delivery context by mentioning that you 'got it express-delivered to me'. The problem is well developed through the description of the 'incomplete stitching on the top left shoulder'. Finally, you successfully justify the urgency by noting that 'there is not enough time remaining for me to arrange a new present'. To achieve an even higher score, you could extend the development of your ideas further by mentioning specific order numbers or delivery dates, ensuring the scenario is presented with maximum depth and realism.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 8.0

Your letter demonstrates a logical sequence of ideas and a very clear overall progression. You move smoothly from the introduction and purchase details into the specific problem, and finally to your request for urgent action and a sign-off. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, separating the introductory greeting, the body of the complaint, the call to action, and the closing remarks naturally. Cohesive devices such as 'Unfortunately', 'upon receiving the parcel', and 'since' are managed well to connect your thoughts without feeling mechanical or obtrusive. Referencing is clear throughout, as pronouns like 'it' consistently point back to the jacket. To push towards top-tier cohesion, you could employ a wider range of advanced referencing techniques and transitional phrases that integrate supporting details even more seamlessly.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.0

You have used a sufficient range of vocabulary with some flexibility and precision to convey your message effectively. Phrases like 'express-delivered', 'dissatisfaction', and 'resolution of the issue' demonstrate a good control of style and collocation appropriate for a formal complaint. However, there are occasional inaccuracies in word choice or collocation, such as writing 'true size' instead of the more standard collocation 'true to size'. Minor slips like this prevent the lexical range from reaching the highest tier of fluent and flexible vocabulary control. To improve your lexical score, focus on incorporating less common idiomatic or precise business phrases and ensuring that modifier-adjective collocations are completely natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.5

You display a good variety of complex structures alongside frequent error-free sentences. You successfully combine relative clauses, conditional ideas, and dependent clauses, such as in the sentence 'I got it express-delivered to me so that I would have enough time to receive it and then send it to my sister as a gift.' Control of grammar and punctuation is generally solid, with good handling of tense shifts from the past purchase to the present state of the jacket and your current request. A few minor slips persist, such as the slightly repetitive use of 'recently' in close proximity ('I have recently purchased...'). To reach the highest grammatical band, you would need an even wider range of complex structures consistently maintained with near-total absence of minor stylistic awkwardness.

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.