Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-31

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 6.0)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to address my dissatisfaction regarding my resent purchase of a jacket from your store located at Surrey central mall location on date 4th August 2026.

In regarding the article, its a blue leather jacket of brand Zara which cost me $200, which come under 3 months of warranty period . while trying this jacket first time, i found that the color of the jacket from inside is getting fading away which making the whole experience stressful and unexpected especially in terms of its famous brand.

Moving further, I decided to return the article to your store however, your staff member refused to receive it stating that. the color of the jacket does not comes under warranty.

Finally, This led me to reach out to you for my formal complaint regarding the jacket manufacturing diffect

I have attached the original bill for your referennce .

Thank you

Your sincerely,

Vikrant

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the task: describing the problem, explaining the return attempt, and stating the desired outcome. However, the final bullet point—what you would like the manager to do—is missing. You mention reaching out for a complaint, but you do not explicitly state that you want a refund, an exchange, or a repair. To reach a higher band, ensure that every instruction in the prompt is explicitly addressed with a clear call to action. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter, though the lack of a specific request makes the purpose of the letter slightly ambiguous.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical structure, moving from the purchase details to the problem, the failed return, and finally the complaint. Paragraphing is used, though the paragraphs are somewhat short and could be better developed. You use some cohesive devices like 'Moving further' and 'Finally', but these feel a bit mechanical. To improve, try to use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that the transition between sentences is smoother. The referencing is generally clear, though some punctuation errors, such as the placement of periods before the start of a new sentence, slightly disrupt the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to convey your message, such as 'dissatisfaction', 'warranty period', and 'manufacturing defect'. However, there are several errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'resent' instead of 'recent', 'diffect' instead of 'defect', and 'referennce'. Additionally, 'getting fading away' is an unnatural collocation. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they indicate a need for more careful proofreading and a focus on correct word forms and spelling to reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'its a blue leather jacket' (missing apostrophe), 'which come under' (subject-verb agreement), and 'does not comes' (incorrect verb form). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of periods in the middle of sentences. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors means that the grammar is not consistently accurate. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and basic punctuation rules.

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

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