Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-04

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 the clothing that I have bought online from your company.

I ordered one denim jacket and a pair of jeans for my upcoming college's fresher party. I ordered these items on 25th September and received its delivery on 3rd October, and I made a payment on a delivery. I bought this three items combo because your company provided the discount on these special item.

Due to this offer, I ordered this combo pair of jeans and jacket, but it was not expected as I saw on your online site, specially the jacket is made up of very poor quality material, and the jeans colours are also very dull. The clothes I got are not as stylish as I looked on your website. Although they are cheaper, I expected better than you delivered.

I would be greatful if you can replace these items and provide me better options. I would appreciate it if you do this in urgent manner because I have a fresher party in next weekend.

Looking forward to your response.

Yours faithfully,

Hardik

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task requirements. You clearly state the details of your purchase, mentioning the denim jacket, jeans, and order dates. The problem is also described, highlighting the poor quality of the material and the dull colors of the jeans. Furthermore, you explain why you need an urgent replacement due to an upcoming college fresher party next weekend. Your position is clear throughout the letter, and the purpose is well communicated. To achieve a higher level in this criterion, the ideas could be extended with even more specific details regarding the resolution you expect, moving beyond a tendency to touch on points rather than fully developing every aspect of the complaint with nuanced context.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter shows a clear overall progression and logical organisation. You begin with an appropriate opening, move through the purchase details and the problem, and conclude with the call to action and a standard closing. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct points, such as the purchase details and the description of the issues. Cohesive devices are present, like referencing words ('these items', 'this combo'), although referencing is sometimes slightly repetitive or mechanical. To reach the next band, you could employ a wider variety of transitional phrases and ensure that all referencing links smoothly without repeating similar sentence openers.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, successfully communicating your dissatisfaction and requirements. You attempt some less common vocabulary, such as 'upcoming college's fresher party', 'dissatisfaction', and 'replacement'. However, there are some word choice, spelling, and collocation inaccuracies that prevent a higher score, such as 'received its delivery' instead of 'delivery was received', 'made a payment on a delivery' instead of 'cash on delivery' or 'paid upon delivery', 'three items combo', and spelling 'greatful' instead of 'grateful'. These lexical errors do not impede communication, but refining these choices would enhance the overall precision of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, successfully using structures like conditional elements and relative clauses ('Although they are cheaper, I expected better than you delivered'). There are some errors in grammar, such as missing articles or incorrect pluralisation in phrases like 'the jeans colours' and 'in next weekend' instead of 'next weekend'. Punctuation and verb tenses are generally handled well enough that communication is rarely impeded. To move further up, you need to produce a higher frequency of error-free sentences while maintaining complex structures and improving your control over prepositions and articles.

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