Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-06

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 7.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to formally express my dissatisfaction about some clothing that I purchased online from your website.

I placed my order last week, on September 29th. The order number was R-234-X145-56, and the payment was made by my credit card, ending with 7745. The order includes a red party wear dress.

I was guranteed by the company that shippment will be completed with in three days. However, it was not fulfiled and was delayed by two days. Furthermore, the item I purchased was not associating the product I received. The dress supposed to be red, while I got brown. Moreover, there is a noticeable hole at the bottom, which is why I am unable to wear it.

This dress was ordered for my 21st birthday party held next week, for which the dress code is red. I do not have enough time left to purchase a new cloth now. I want you to replace this item with the correct order in 2-3 days, as I need some time to try it and check the fitings. If you are not able to replace it please give me a full refund.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Ramneet Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 8.5

The letter covers all three required points clearly and in a suitably formal tone. You identify the purchase with the order date, reference number, payment method and item, then explain both the late delivery and the mismatch in colour and damage. The birthday party and red dress code make the urgency specific, and your request for a replacement within two to three days, with a refund as an alternative, gives the company a clear action to take. These details develop the purpose of the letter well. To make the response even more complete, clarify whether the replacement should be sent by an expedited service and briefly state what remedy you expect for the delayed delivery as well as the faulty item.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5

The information is arranged in a clear sequence: you introduce the complaint, give purchase details, describe the problems, explain the urgency and state the remedy you want. Paragraphing supports this progression, and linking expressions such as “However,” “Furthermore” and “Moreover” help distinguish the issues. The final request and polite closing also make the letter easy to follow. Some connections are slightly mechanical, particularly the repeated additive transitions, and the sentence beginning “This dress was ordered…” carries several related points at once. You could improve flow by varying the links and separating the birthday context from the specific replacement deadline, while keeping the same logical order.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for a formal complaint, including “dissatisfaction,” “noticeable hole,” “replace,” and “full refund.” These choices communicate the problem and requested outcome clearly. However, some spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision: “guranteed,” “shippment,” and “fulfiled” are misspelled, while “party wear dress” and “not associating the product I received” are unnatural or unclear combinations. “New cloth” is also not the natural term for a garment. Aim for accurate, conventional complaint-letter phrasing and check spelling carefully; this would make your vocabulary sound more controlled without needing unnecessarily advanced words.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple statements and more complex forms, including the contrast introduced by “However” and the reason clause “as I need some time to try it.” Most of the message remains understandable, and the sentence structures are varied enough to explain the purchase, defects and urgency. Some grammatical errors remain, however. For example, “shipment will be completed with in three days” needs an article and a more accurate tense, and “The dress supposed to be red” is missing “was.” In “I want you to replace this item … in 2-3 days,” the time phrase could also be made clearer as a deadline. Proofread verb forms, articles and sentence patterns to improve accuracy.

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