Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-28

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You recently bought a jacket, but when you got home, you discovered it was
damaged. When you took it back to the store, you were told that merchandise
cannot be returned.

Write a letter to the store manager. In your letter:
• describe the problem with the jacket.
• explain what happened when you tried to return it.
• say what you would like the manager to do.

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 writing to express my dissastisfaction on purchasing a leather jacket from your recently new opened store and on returning your employees denied its acceptance. Therefore, I would kindly request for a refund or exchange for a new piece.

I purchased a leather jacket from your newly opened store yesterday. Since it was rush hours and the store was closing for th day I bought the jacket in a hurry without noticing any damage on it. On arriving home I tried and noticed the zip up was not working and also one of the pocket was torn.

The next morning I went to your shop to return the product, but one of your denied to accept it and exchange. Instead he was rude and abusive towards me and threw me out of the shop.

I would therefore request you to take strict actions against him and kindly refund me the money. I would wish in future you have proper review of and background check of your employees before hiring them.

I look forward to hear from you.

Kind regards,

Karan Wasim

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: describing the damage, explaining the failed return attempt, and stating your desired outcome. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter of complaint. However, the development of ideas is somewhat brief. For instance, while you mention the employee was rude, providing a slightly more detailed account of the interaction could have strengthened the narrative. The purpose of the letter is clear from the outset, and you maintain a consistent position throughout. To improve, ensure that each bullet point is expanded with sufficient detail to fully satisfy the reader's expectations for a formal complaint.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter follows a logical progression, moving from the purchase to the problem, the failed return, and finally the requested resolution. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate these distinct stages of the narrative. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Therefore', 'Since', and 'Instead', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For example, the opening paragraph is a bit abrupt. Improving the use of linking phrases and ensuring that referencing (e.g., 'it', 'them') is always precise will help elevate your score in this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using words like 'dissatisfaction', 'merchandise', and 'abusive'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'recently new opened store' (redundant) and 'zip up was not working' (should be 'zipper'). Additionally, 'th day' is a clear typo. While you are able to convey your meaning clearly, the range of vocabulary is somewhat limited, and there is a lack of more sophisticated or precise collocations that would be expected at a higher band level. Focusing on natural word combinations will improve your lexical precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. Examples include 'I writing to' (missing auxiliary verb), 'one of your denied' (missing noun, e.g., 'employees'), and 'I look forward to hear' (should be 'hearing'). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they are frequent enough to impact the overall fluency of the writing. To improve, pay closer attention to verb forms, subject-verb agreement, and the correct usage of gerunds after phrases like 'look forward to'.

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

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