Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-08

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,

I am writing this to express my dissatisfaction about a jacket purchased recently from your company.

Admittedly, all the clothing articles bought from you till the last purchase, were up to the right standard, thereby making me an impulsive buyer of your brand. However, this jacket ruined all my expectations.

What disheartened me the most is the ripped fabric on one of its sleeves. Moreover, the color of jacket is quite different from what was shown on the website. Having experienced such downgraded service from a highly reputed company, I am totally dismayed.

Provided that the company cooperate, the trust can be maintained. An immediate replacement would be appreciated because I had planned to wear that jacket on an event, which is just after two days from now. Would you be able replace it within that time frame for your regular customer?

I look for a prompt action regarding this.

Yours faithfully,

Emily Clark.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The letter addresses the main requirements: it identifies the purchase as a jacket, describes the ripped sleeve and colour mismatch, and explains that a replacement is needed for an event in two days. The complaint is clear and the request is relevant. However, the purchase details are limited: there is no order date, order number, or other identifying information, and the urgency could be made more explicit by stating what action or delivery date you require. The opening also differs from the instructed “Dear Sir or Madam,” and the closing request, “Would you be able replace it,” is not fully clear about the company’s expected response. These omissions keep some parts less fully developed, although the purpose is successfully communicated.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter follows a clear progression from the reason for writing, to the defects, and then to the requested replacement and its urgency. Paragraphing helps separate these stages, and linking expressions such as “Moreover” and “because” make relationships between ideas easy to follow. The contrast between previous satisfactory purchases and this disappointing one also supports the complaint’s development. Some transitions feel slightly formal or formulaic, particularly “Provided that the company cooperate,” and the final sentence, “I look for a prompt action regarding this,” does not connect as naturally to the specific request. A more direct closing paragraph that restates the required replacement and asks for confirmation would make the progression smoother and cohesion more flexible.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.5

You use a good range of vocabulary for a formal complaint, including “dissatisfaction,” “disheartened,” “reputed,” and “dismayed.” These choices convey disappointment clearly, and phrases such as “immediate replacement” suit the purpose. There is also some awareness of formal register. At times, however, word combinations are unnatural or overly elaborate: “up to the right standard,” “impulsive buyer of your brand,” and “downgraded service” do not express the intended meaning idiomatically. “Color of jacket” also needs a more natural phrasing. These occasional collocation and word-choice issues do not prevent understanding, but more conventional complaint-letter expressions would make the language more precise and fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

The letter includes a useful mix of simple and complex structures, such as “because I had planned to wear that jacket on an event” and the conditional construction beginning “Provided that…”. Many sentences are clear and correctly formed, and punctuation generally supports the meaning. A few grammatical errors remain: “the company cooperate” needs subject–verb agreement (“cooperates”), “the color of jacket” needs an article, and “Would you be able replace it” requires “to” after “be able.” The phrase “on an event” also uses the wrong preposition within the grammatical pattern; use “to an event.” These are noticeable but do not obstruct the reader, and careful proofreading of agreement, articles, and verb patterns would improve accuracy.

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